The year 2024 seems to be filled with solar events, from a total solar eclipse to a planetary parade that was 228 years in the making! Now, skywatchers can rejoice in another rare astronomical event taking place this month — a full moon Supermoon also known as the Sturgeon Moon, which can be seen across Ontario skies on Monday, Aug. 19 at 2:26 p.m.
Supermoons are the biggest and brightest Full Moons of the year! Although the Full Moon phase will peak on the afternoon of Aug. 19, the Moon will look ‘full’ for a few days.
According to NASA, as it’s the third Full Moon in a season with four full Moons, it will be considered a Blue Moon (although the Moon won’t actually look blue — its name has little to do with its colour).
The first use of the term “Blue Moon” in English possibly dates back to the 16th century to an old English phrase, “belewe”, which means “to betray” (as it led to the church making mistakes when setting the dates for Lent and Easter as these dates are determined by lunar cycles).
In 1979, astrologer Richard Nolle came up with the term “Supermoon” to describe either a New Moon or a Full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. The name “Sturgeon Moon” is named after the giant lake sturgeon, a type of freshwater fish found in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, according to the Almanac. The Full Moon coincided with the time when sturgeon fish were most readily caught (they were an important food staple for Native Americans, who gave names to each Full Moon).
This will be the first of four consecutive Supermoons this year, with the others appearing in the sky on Sept. 18, Oct. 17, and Nov. 15).
If you miss the Supermoon, then there are other celestial activities you can look out for later this year, including the Draconid Meteor Shower (a minor meteor shower that produces about 10 meteors per hour), running from Oct. 6-10, peaking on the night of Oct. 7, as well as the Geminids Meteor Shower, which is considered the king of the meteor showers, producing up to 120 multicolored meteors per hour at its peak! This will run from Dec. 7-17, peaking the night of the 13th and the morning of the 14th.
