Double lunar delight: Don’t miss August’s first supermoon showing tonight

The month of August dishes up a veritable celestial feast to lunar lovers and stargazers alike with its double feature of supermoons and a once-in-a-year meteor shower.

The first supermoon will be visible tonight as it rises in the evening sky.

Supermoon in SA:

Tonight’s supermoon is also called the “Sturgeon Moon” because it occurs around the time of year which, historically, was the best time to catch these large freshwater fish in the Great Lakes, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. 

When to watch Sturgeon Moon

The Sturgeon Moon will reach its peak in South Africa at 8.31pm tonight. It’s one of those wonders of the cosmos you don’t want to miss…

So, don’t be a sissie just because it’s cold (okay, okay…freezing) outside.

My sincerest condolences especially for those lunar lovers in Gauteng, but just be brave like Mzansi’s very own cash-in-transit heist hero, Leo Prinsloo, and do it!

Several duvets and a flask of polisie koffie will help, of course.

ALSO READ: WATCH: How Leo Prinsloo literally drove into and chased the highway robbers

Where to watch online

And if – after all of that supermoon pep talk – the skies are overcast, there is always the option of watching it online.

The Virtual Telescope Project’s webcast shows the supermoon rising over the Colosseum in Rome of all places.

This month’s supermoon fest will culminate in a rare blue moon on 30 August which will reach its peak in South Africa at 3.35pm.

Once in a Blue Moon…

Whenever there is an extra full moon during a month, it is called a blue moon.

This typically happens only once every two and a half years. The most recent blue moon, for example, occurred in October 2020.

Stargazers will have to wait until 2037 before there are another two supermoons in a single month, according to VOA News.

And just in case you thought a blue moon refers to its colour, Encyclopaedia Britannica explains that the term actually originates from a 16th century expression, in which a blue moon referred to something that never (and later rarely) happened.

Hence the expression “once in a blue moon”.  

What is a supermoon?

A supermoon – coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 – refers to a full or new moon that is within 90% of its closest point to Earth. 

Supermoons are therefore closer to Earth than the average full moon, which makes for quite spectacular viewing as they appear extra large and bright, explains almanac.com.

Meteor shower

Also gracing the sky in August, is the annual Perseid meteor shower.

It will reach its peak in the Northern Hemisphere on the nights of 12 and 13 August, so it will unfortunately be a no-show for Mzansi stargazers.