Rare ‘blue supermoon’ event will light up Earth 30% brighter this week – how to see phenomenon
A RARE Supermoon is set to light up the sky later this week.
It’s being referred to as a Blue Supermoon and will light up Earth more than usual.
The Blue Supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of the year.
Unfortunately, the Moon won’t actually be blue.
It will likely look orange instead.
The term refers to the rarity of the event, not what it looks like.
Nasa explains on its website: “A blue moon is the term for when we see the full moon twice in a single month.
“The Moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, so just a bit shorter than the average length of a calendar month.
“Eventually that gap results in a full moon happening at the beginning of a month with enough days still remaining for another full cycle ― so a second full moon in the same month.”
A blue Moon happens every two to three years, hence the phrase once in a blue Moon describing something that doesn’t happen that often.
We’ve already had one Supermoon earlier this month on August 1, making the second even more rare.
The second August 2023 Blue Supermoon will rise on August 30.
The Moon itself will also look very large a day before and a few days after this event.
A Supermoon appears when a full Moon aligns with the point closest to the Earth during its elliptical orbit.
During this time it appears 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual.
You shouldn’t have any trouble spotting the Supermoon as it’s the brightest thing in the sky.
It’s worth viewing it when it’s lower on the horizon so it looks larger.
Check the moonrise time for your location and prepare to see it at 222,043 miles from Earth.