The first supermoon of the year is set to lighten up the skies as the “biggest and brightest” full moon so far of 2024 — and it will be a rare lunar event.
Monday’s full moon is not just a supermoon but also a blue moon — a rare occurrence of a super blue moon that typically happens once in a decade.
August’s full moon will rise Monday afternoon, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which tracks lunar events.
It will look “bigger and brighter” than the full moons seen thus far this year, it says on Almanac’s website.
If you want to catch a glimpse of the super blue moon, it will be visible and appear full till Wednesday morning, according to NASA.
And the next one won’t happen until 2037.
What is a super blue moon?
A supermoon means a full moon in orbit is at or near its closest point to the Earth.
Monday’s supermoon is the first of four consecutive this year, with the next ones coming in September, October and November.
The blue moon has two definitions.
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A seasonal blue moon, which is the one rising on Monday, is the third of four full moons in a single season (spring, summer, fall and winter). Typically, there are three full moons in one season.
A monthly blue moon is the second of two full moons within one calendar month.
The overlapping celestial events make Monday’s full moon a super blue moon.
Despite what the name suggests, the moon will not appear blue.
However, it will look brighter than usual and up to “14 per cent bigger than when it’s farthest from Earth,” according to NASA.
“This is similar to the size difference between a quarter and a nickel,” the agency said.
Here is a glimpse of what it could like.
The August blue supermoon sets behind the CN tower in Toronto on Aug. 30, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
A rare blue supermoon rises over Lake Michigan as spectators watch from Chicago’s 31st Street beach on Aug. 30, 2023.
AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
The August super blue moon sets behind a spire of the Duomo gothic cathedral in Milan, Italy, on Aug. 30, 2023.
AP Photo/Luca Bruno
The moon known as blue moon rises behind the small village of Ujue, northern Spain on Aug. 30, 2023.
AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos
A supermoon is seen over Delhi’s skyline, India, on Aug. 31, 2023.
AP Photo/Manish Swarup
How often do super blue moons occur?
The last time a super blue moon happened was in August 2023, but it is a rare event.
“The time between super blue moons is quite irregular — it can be as much as 20 years — but in general, 10 years is the average,” NASA says.
The next super blue moon will happen in January 2037.
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