Stargazers around the world will be treated with a rare sight when a supermoon will rise this evening (Tuesday) in the southeast from 357,530 kilometres away.
Known as the ‘Sturgeon Supermoon’, it will rise on August, 1 with its peak expected at 11:32pm. It will appear 14% larger and a 30% brighter than the typical full moon, Sky News reported.
The excitement for the stargazers and celestial bodies’ lover does not end here as the moon will be even closer to earth on August 30 at a distance of 357,344 kilometres.
This rare occurrence called the ‘Super Blue Moon’ will grace the skies on August 30. Hence the term “once in a blue moon” used as an idiom to talk about a rare event.
The Super Blue Moon is used for a second full moon within the same month, which happens only once every two and a half years. The Blue Moon will be visible at 6:36am.
When the moon is closer to Earth than usual, the cosmic combo is called a supermoon in which the moon appears slightly bigger and brighter than normal.
“Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon,” USA Today quoted NASA as saying.
“Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit,” it added.
The space enthusiasts will have to wait for around three to witness the sight given the natural occurrence will happen on November 5, 2025 after the August super blue moon.
