After the spectacular Perseid meteor shower, the “shooting stars” of the night of San Lorenzo, and the Northern Lights spotted in Northern Italy on August 12, here is a new fascinating astronomical event appearing in our skies with the Moon as the protagonist, the August 19, 2024 at 8.26pm Italian time. They call her “Super Sturgeon Moon”or even “Seasonal blue moon.” These are names that make you think of something special, but they can also cause some misunderstanding: the Moon in fact it will not appear blueand it will not be a special or exceptional event. “Supermoon” is in fact a journalistic term – therefore it is not part of the technical astronomical jargon – coined in 1979 to indicate a new or full Moon that occurs when our satellite is within 90% of its maximum approach to the Earth (the so-called “perigee”). They are therefore the largest (up to 10%) and brightest (up to 30%) full moons of the year. It will be the first of four consecutive Supermoons this year.
What time and where to see the Supermoon of August 19, 2024
There Sturgeon Supermoon coincides with the moment when the Moon will reach the phase of totality (Full moon) Monday evening, August 19, 2024shortly after sunset, at 20:26 Italian timeThe event will be visible to the naked eye from all over Italy, but we still recommend using binoculars that will allow you to see the details of the fascinating lunar surface.
At 8:26 pm, the Moon will be very low on the horizonat a distance of approximately 361,000 km from Earthabout to arise in east/southeast direction. It is therefore necessary to have, at least at the beginning of the evening, theeast/southeast horizon completely clearmaybe by the sea considering the season we are in.
Given its low altitude above the horizon, the Moon will appear one characteristic reddish colorcaused by the most thick layer of atmosphere that the moonlight has to pass through compared to when it is high in the sky. The thicker layer of atmosphere in fact means that visible light blue, green and purple be dispersed from the molecules present in the air, leaving undisturbed only the red component of visible light, which gives the Moon its characteristic reddish color.
Why is it called the Super Sturgeon Moon?
The term Supermoon or Sturgeon Moon has its origins in the mythology of native american peoplesThe first reference to the Sturgeon Moon is in an almanac of Maine farmers (USA), who began using native Indian names for full moons in 1930. Since then, the use of these names has become popular throughout the world.
According to this almanac, the Native American tribe of the Algonquins He referred to the August full moon as the Sturgeon Moon, due to the fact that this type of fish was more easily catchable at this time of year in the region of great lakesthe northeastern area of the United States of America to which this population was native.
The term Blue moon It is a folkloristic name that indicates the second full moon of a solar month or, as in this case, the third full moon in a season with four full Moons.
