Yahoo Lifestyle August’s Full Moon Is a Rare Super Blue Moon
Look up in the night sky Sunday through Tuesday, August 18–20 to enjoy a rare blue supermoon this week. Reaching peak fullness at 2:26 p.m. ET on Monday, August 19, it’s the first full supermoon on 2024’s full moon calendar—and the second year in a row that we’ve enjoyed a blue supermoon in August.
Blue moons happen every two to three years, but a blue moon that is also “super”? (That is, a full moon that is at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit?) That is less common. So how is it possible for one to occur in the same month for two consecutive years? It all comes down to how you define a blue moon, and there are two ways:
The newer definition of a blue moon is the second full moon to occur within one calendar month. By this definition, the second full moon in August 2023 was a blue moon. This use of the term is more well-known today—and also more easily grasped in terms of our modern calendar. But, says the Royal Museums Greenwich, this definition originated “as a mistake, made in the 1940s and perpetuated by radio shows and the Trivial Pursuit board game through the 1980s.”
The full moon we view in August 2024 will be “blue” according to the original definition: “the third full moon in an astronomical season containing four full moons,” according to RMG. Astronomical seasons are set by the solar equinoxes and solstices. In this case, summer began on the solstice on June 20 this year and will end with the autumn equinox on Sunday, September 22.
Typically, there are only three full moons in the three-month time frame of an astronomical season, but this summer, there are four, including the full moons on June 21, July 21, August 19, and September 17, making August’s full moon blue.
Notice that neither definition has anything to do with the moon actually appearing blue in color. Such an event is much, much rarer still, most accurately fitting the idiom “once in a blue moon.” The moon on very rare occasions can take on a blue cast due to particles in the atmosphere from a volcanic eruption or even a wildfire.
For example, 141 years ago, the massive, deadly eruption of the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa in August 1883 reportedly made the moon appear blue. Otherwise, if the moon looks blue in a photo, it’s due to a filter or editing.
As for the “super” part of the August 2024 blue supermoon, that can be a bit misleading. It will be appear a little brighter and larger due to being with 90 percent of its closest point to Earth in its orbit—361,970km to be precise, according to astronomer Fred Espenak’s site, Astropixels.com. But, most experts agree the difference is hard to perceive and that the moon illusion (when the moon looks larger because it’s near the horizon) has a greater effect on our perception.
August 19 marks the first in this year’s series of four consecutive full supermoons, but it’s not the closest—that distinction goes to October’s Harvest Moon.
Read on for full moon calendar dates for the rest of 2024, so you’ll always know when’s the next full moon.
What are the dates the full moons in 2024? Check our full moon calendar!
The traditional moon names included in our full moon calendar below come from The Old Farmer’s Almanac and, according to the popular reference guide, were passed down for generations in Native American tribes (some naming customs from European American settlers are woven in too). These special names, based on natural events, helped users keep track of the seasons, though the same moon often went by other monikers in different regions.
Full Moon Calendar Dates for the Rest of the 2024
August 19, 2024 (2:26 p.m. ET) Sturgeon Moon
Judging by its name, the fishing is good during this moon—especially for sturgeon, once abundant this time of year in the Great Lakes and other northern bodies of water.
September 17, 2024 (10:34 p.m. ET) Harvest Moon
The full moon closest to the fall equinox, the Harvest Moon may occur occasionally in October. It is during the helpful light of this moon that corn is often harvested.
October 17, 2024 (7:26 a.m. ET) Hunter’s Moon
This moon marked a crucial time for hunters to store up meat before winter. The Hunter's Moon also was considered a feast day for Native Americans and many Western Europeans.
November 15, 2024 (4:28 p.m. ET) Beaver Moon
Trapping beavers, prized for their warm fur, was popular during this lunation's activity.December 15, 2024 (4:02 a.m. ET) Cold Moon
This moon marks the start of the year's coldest months.
Past Full Moons in 2024
January 25, 2024 (12:54 p.m. ET) Wolf Moon
Said to be so named for the wolf's hungry howling during mid-winter nights.February 24, 2024 (7:30 a.m. ET ) Snow Moon
The snow was often heaviest come February—and this lunation.March 25, 2024 (3:00 a.m. ET) Worm Moon
This moon comes at beginning of the spring thaw, when earthworms reappear and robins soon after them. As the first full moon after the spring equinox in 2024, this moon sets the date for Easter the following Sunday.April 23, 2024 (7:49 p.m. ET) Pink Moon
Named not for the color of this moon, but for the hue of wild ground phlox, one of the first plants to bloom come spring.May 23, 2024 (9:53 a.m. ET) Flower Moon
So dubbed for the blooms typically growing in glorious profusion in May.June 21, 2024 (9:08 p.m. ET) Strawberry Moon
While a full, red moon might resemble a strawberry, this moon is named for the fruit that's usually ready to pick around the time of it.July 21, 2024 (6:17 a.m. ET) Buck Moon
This moon coincides with the time of the year when male deer grow new antlers.
Is the moon full tonight?
We’ll be in the waxing gibbous moon phase until our bella luna reaches full moon phases August 19, 2024, at 2:26 p.m. ET. Then, the moon immediately enters the waning gibbous phase.
Don’t worry too much about catching the full moon at its peak time, which will happen well before moonrise across the United States this month. Because it’s in constant orbit around the Earth, the moon is technically full only for a moment. However, it’s hard to tell the difference between a truly full moon, the final stage of a waxing gibbous moon, and the start of a waning gibbous moon. Each lunar cycle, we enjoy a moon that appears completely illuminated for about three days, from the day before to the day after.
How does the full moon affect us?
he nearest celestial body to Earth and the only one humans have literally set foot on, the moon has a tremendous influence on our world. But its impact seems even more profound when the moon appears fully lit, which happens when the moon is opposite the sun in its rotation around Earth, with the entire sunlit side visible.
For example, full moon tides are more intense than tides occurring during some other moon phases. The alignment of the sun, moon, and Earth creates extremely low, low tides and super-high high tides, both commonly known as spring tides. There also have been studies that have shown full moons can affect everything from sleep to cardiovascular conditions and even bipolar disorder symptoms.
What does the full moon mean astrologically?
There’s no doubt la bella luna is a serious source of inspiration, as Serafice, a Philadelphia-based astrologist and psychic, notes. "The moon has been with us during our whole journey from painting on cave walls through the development of cultures all the way to actually traveling into space," Serafice says. "She is our constant companion, the moon, and she has a tremendous effect on our psyche as well."
In astrology, the moon represents our feelings, instincts, and desires. "It's a representation and a reflection of our interior world," according to Serafice. "When you’re doing your natal chart, which is the arrangement of the heavenly bodies at the time that you entered this physical realm, the moon represents your emotions. (Your natal moon sign) gives reference to how you're likely to respond emotionally to different scenarios and situations. So, the moon is the connection to our feelings, our intuition, and our subconscious."
"Since the moon represents our interior experience," Serafice continues, "when she is full you tend to feel more full and in less control of your emotions which can appear as the weepies, an outburst, a general sense of sensitivity, an overflowing or a full-on breakdown. To be clear, the astrological activity does not cause the way you feel, but they can describe the circumstance that you are experiencing and give you tools for coping and managing how you personally process the information."
What are the moon's phases?
The lunar cycle takes about 30 days (29.5 to be exact) to complete and includes eight moon phases. The four major ones are new moon, first quarter moon, full moon, and third quarter moon. The four intermediary ones are waxing crescent, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, and waning crescent.
See our guide to the moon phases to understand, from an astronomical perspective, why the moon appears partially or fully illuminated (or not illuminated at all) as it moves through the lunar cycle. But astrologically speaking, here is what the moon's major phases mean to us, according to Serafice:
The New Moon
"This is when we get started. One of the things we find is that because it’s dark, we tend to have less of an emotional response and our logic mind tends to be more forward. We're more clear and we’re less likely to get triggered, so this is an excellent time to actually work through some of your issues. It’s a really good energy for investigating, researching, building, and exploring. This is the time that you want to make a plan, get organized, decide on your goals and choose how you want to grow over the next month."
The First Quarter Moon
"The moon is waxing, she's growing, so this is when you want to fertilize, to nurture, when you’re going to be connecting to partners or collaborators, or the tools that will help you to accomplish your goals. This is the time when you want to take action, when you will be more able to find resources and connect with the support that you need to reach the spaces that you’ve decided you’re trying to grow into."
The Full Moon
"The full moon represents delivery and release, so this is when you’re going to want to let go, when you’re going to want to rest, when you’re going to want to heal. This is a time for being at peace, you want to be nourishing your body and settling your mind. Emotions are likely to be really high—you are more likely to be triggered, so you really want to be using your self-care during a full moon, and you may even want to retreat and isolate, so that you are more able to care for yourself."
The Three Quarter Moon
"The moon is waning, she's diminishing now. And so we're preparing, we’re conditioning for the next active phase. This is when we’re retreating internally, we’re reflecting and considering where we’re going to shift, change, and let go. So we’ve experienced setting the goal, moving into goal, and achieving some aspect of the goal. Now we can we let things go, so that when the next new moon comes we’re ready to set another level of goals or activate another level of achievement."
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