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4 months ago
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A rare supermoon will illuminate the sky on Monday, appearing bigger and brighter than any moon seen this year.
The Sturgeon moon will peak at 2:26pm ET and appear full through Wednesday morning.
The name comes from the giant lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, easily caught during the summer.
The celestial wonder also kicks off a series of four consecutive supermoons this year.
The Sturgeon supermoon will light up the night sky on August 19, followed by three more back-to-back supermoons in the months after.
'This full Moon is the 3rd of the four ones we will see during the current season. Such a full Moon is often called Blue Moon, but of course this has nothing to do with the real color of our satellite, said astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
'Such a seasonal Blue Moon happened last time in 2021 and will happen again in 2027.'
The term 'supermoon' was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the moon is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth.
The moon is typically 238,900 miles from Earth but will be 224,917 miles away on Monday.
And because of its close approach, the Sturgeon moon is set to appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.
The sun sets around 7:30pm ET, which will allow the moon to shine brightly in the night sky.
In the evening, look toward the southeast after sunset to catch a glimpse of the Sturgeon Moon rising.
On the East Coast, the supermoon will rise towards the east-southeastern skies, peaking about one-third of the way through the sky before setting at about 7:00am in the west-southwest.
An optical illusion makes supermoons appear biggest and brightest when they're close to the horizon.
If you live in the city, you may want to get out in search of darker skies, as light pollution can dim the moon's brightness.
To see the details of the moon up close - like craters - make sure to bring some binoculars and a telescope with you.
While Native Americans generally refer to August's Supermoon as the 'Sturgeon Moon', the 'Corn Moon', 'Ricing Moon' and 'Black Cherries Moon' are among other nicknames.
The Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest traditionally called this time of the season the Mountain Shadows Moon.
Meanwhile, the Anglo-Saxons also called it the 'Grain Moon', according to Starwalk.
But if you miss out on this month's supermoon, there will be three more over the next few months with one on September 18, October 17 and November 15.
