The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon; the Sturgeon Moon
The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; and Esala Poya and the start of Vassa.
The next full Moon will be on Tuesday afternoon, August 1, 2023, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 2:32 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday morning from the India Standard Time zone eastward to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for 3 days around this time, from early Monday morning to early Thursday morning.
This will be a supermoon. Different publications use different thresholds for deciding which Moons qualify as “super.” In 2023, some publications recognize four supermoons (the full Moon in July, the two full Moons in August, and the full Moon in September), while others recognize only the two brightest supermoons, this full Moon and the next at the end of August. 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% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth. Since we can’t see new Moons (except when they block the Sun), what has caught the public’s attention in recent decades are full supermoons, as these are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year.
The phases of the Moon for August 2023. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; and Esala Poya and the start of Vassa.
The next full Moon will be on Tuesday afternoon, August 1, 2023, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 2:32 PM EDT. This will be on Wednesday morning from the India Standard Time zone eastward to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for 3 days around this time, from early Monday morning to early Thursday morning.
This will be a supermoon. Different publications use different thresholds for deciding which Moons qualify as “super.” In 2023, some publications recognize four supermoons (the full Moon in July, the two full Moons in August, and the full Moon in September), while others recognize only the two brightest supermoons, this full Moon and the next at the end of August. 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% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth. Since we can’t see new Moons (except when they block the Sun), what has caught the public’s attention in recent decades are full supermoons, as these are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year.
An image of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, taken when Orion was on its Artemis I mission around the Moon. At upper right, in the distance beyond Orion, both Earth and the Moon are seen.
Super blue moons occur about every 10 years, on average – though the time between any two occurrences can vary from two months to two decades or more. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing “Indian” names for full Moons in the 1930s and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in August the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon, after the large fish in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water that were more easily caught this time of year. Other names reported for this Moon include the Red Moon, the Corn or Green Corn Moon, the Barley Moon, the Herb Moon, the Grain Moon, and the Dog Moon.
Every full Moon is a holiday in Sri Lanka. In 2023 there are two Esala Poya holidays, Adhi Esala Poya on July 3 and this full Moon, Esala Poya, both commemorating Buddha’s first sermon after reaching nirvana, which started Buddhism. This sermon became the core of Buddhist teachings and includes the four noble truths. In addition, with this full Moon the Buddhist Monks start Vassa, the annual three-month retreat during the rainy season.
In many traditional lunisolar and lunar calendars the full Moons fall on or near the middle of the lunar months. This full Moon is in the middle of the sixth month of the Chinese calendar, Av in the Hebrew calendar, and Muharram in the Islamic calendar. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic year and one of the four sacred months during which warfare is forbidden.
For Science Fiction fans, a note on the author Theodore Sturgeon (in honor of the Sturgeon Moon). According to Wikipedia, Theodore Sturgeon wrote over 200 stories, mostly science fiction but some horror and mystery tales. For Star Trek fans, his scripts introduced important concepts into the series, although only two of his scripts were produced. His Star Trek scripts introduced “pon far,” the Vulcan hand symbol, the phrase “live long and prosper,” and (in a script that was not produced but that influenced later scripts) the “Prime Directive.”
As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. Enjoy the supermoon, avoid starting any wars, and consider reading some Theodore Sturgeon.
As for other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC):
As summer continues the daily periods of sunlight continue to shorten. On Tuesday, August 1, 2023 (the day of the full Moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:03 AM EDT, sunrise will be at 6:09 AM, solar noon will be at 1:14 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 69.1 degrees, sunset will be at 8:19 PM, and evening twilight will end at 9:25 PM. By Wednesday, August 30 (the day of the full Moon after next), morning twilight will begin at 5:35 AM, sunrise will be at 6:35 AM, solar noon will be at 1:09 PM when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude of 60.0 degrees, sunset will be at 7:42 PM, and evening twilight will end at 8:42 PM.READ MORE