News

The second full moon set to rise in the sky Aug. 30 will not be just a “blue moon” — as the two-in-one calendar month lunar phenomena that occurs every two to three years is known. No, it’s going to be a “super blue moon.”

According to NASA, so-called blue moons — and the accompanying phrase “once in a blue moon” — come about because the moon’s lunar cycle runs just shy of a regular month.

“So, eventually a full moon will happen at the beginning of a month, with enough days left for a complete lunar cycle,” NASA’s skywatching site What’s Up states. “When that happens, we get a blue moon.”

But this month, the phenomena brings a little something extra special. It’s happening when the moon is closer to Earth — since the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle.

“At its closest point, called perigee, it's 14 percent closer than at its farthest,” the NASA post states.”About three to four times a year, the full moon phase happens to coincide with the moon reaching perigee, and we call that event a supermoon. While it technically appears a little bit bigger (and a tad brighter) than the average full moon, the difference is not super noticeable to the eye.”


Having a blue moon and a supermoon coincide — and hence the super blue moon — “occurs about every 10 years, on average,” according to NASA, which notes “the time between any two occurrences can vary from two months to two decades or more.”

So, here’s to clear skies for this month’s super blue moon.