Super blue moon in time lapse from Oregon
The Super Blue Moon was spotted over Fern Ridge Reservoir near Eugene on Monday evening. It will still be visible from Oregon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Oregonians and others around the world witnessed an extremely rare celestial event on Monday evening: a “super blue moon.”
This super blue moon is named after three simultaneous cosmic events: a full moon, a supermoon and a blue moon.
The rare combination occurs when the different cycles of blue moons and supermoons happen to coincide on the calendar, said Noah Petro, project scientist for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.
And as if that wasn’t confusing enough, astronomers also have different definitions of what counts as a supermoon and what counts as a blue moon. (Just last year, a full moon met the criteria for both, according to some definitions.)
And although the super blue moon only occurred on Monday night, a very bright “supermoon” is still expected for the next few nights. Although the moon was “full” on Monday, it should be 98.8% full on Tuesday night and 94.7% full on Wednesday night, according to NASA.
What is a supermoon?
When the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual, this cosmic combination is called a supermoon. A supermoon occurs when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth and the moon is full at the same time. The term was coined in 1979 by astrologer Richard Nolle.
“Different publications use slightly different thresholds to decide when a full moon is close enough to Earth to be considered a supermoon,” NASA said. “Because the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle, the moon is closer to Earth at times during its orbit than at other times.”
When the moon reaches its closest point to Earth, about 226,000 miles (364,000 kilometers) away, full moons appear larger and brighter than at other times. A supermoon appears 30% brighter and 14% larger than a typical full moon.
However, to the naked eye, the moon probably won’t appear much larger.
According to NASA, the 14% increase is equivalent to the difference in size between a quarter and a nickel.
What is a blue moon?
There are two kinds of blue moons: seasonal and monthly. That one Monday was the seasonal kind.
A seasonal blue moon occurs when there are four full moons in one season (in this case, summer). In this case, the third of the four is considered a blue moon.
The second definition – which arose from a misunderstanding of the original definition – is the monthly blue moon, which refers to the second full moon in a calendar month.
In any case, blue moons owe their reputation as rarity to a peculiarity in the typical rhythm of one full moon per month.
The lunar cycle lasts 29.5 days. But as Mike Reed, professor of astrophysics at Missouri State University, notes, months can also have 28, 29, 30 or 31 days.
The two cycles create strange deviations that result in there being one more moon than usual in a season or month – this is called a blue moon.
Months usually have one full moon – unless there is a (monthly) blue moon. And seasons usually have three full moons – unless there is a (seasonal) blue moon.
In addition, Monday’s full moon is unlikely to appear blue: Blue-colored moons in photos are usually created using special blue camera filters or photo editing apps.
According to NASA, in rare cases, tiny particles in the air can scatter red wavelengths of light, making the moon appear blue. However, the name “Blue Moon” does not refer to the color of the moon.
Monday’s blue moon was the only one that will be seen in 2024. The next blue moon is not until May 31, 2026, and will be a monthly blue moon.
When is the super blue moon in Oregon?
The super blue moon appeared on Monday evening. In Oregon, the moon rose around 8:30 p.m. on Monday and set around 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, reaching its highest point in the sky around 1:00 a.m.
In Eugene and Salem the moon rose at 8:33 p.m.
Visit www.almanac.com/astronomy/moon-rise-and-set to find exact rise and set times based on zip codes.
Unless there are clouds in the evening, Oregonians should be able to see the moon in the northwest sky. Although the day will be cloudy in both Eugene and Salem, skies are expected to be mostly clear by Monday evening, according to the National Weather Service.
However, clouds may obscure the super blue moon for residents of cities further east, such as Bend, Pendleton and Klamath Falls.
How rare is a super blue moon? When will the next one occur?
“That’s a difficult question to answer because it depends on your definition of a supermoon and a blue moon,” Edward Bloomer, senior astronomy manager at Britain’s Royal Observatory Greenwich, told USA TODAY by email.
The answer is different depending on whether you’re talking about a seasonal blue moon or a monthly blue moon. If you adjust what counts as a supermoon, the answer changes, too.
According to NASA, there is generally a blue moon every two to three years. There can be up to 20 years between super blue moons, but the average is 10 years.
So when will the next super blue moon actually occur?
According to NASA, January 2037 is a safe date.
However, depending on what you consider a super blue moon, you may hear of another rising beforehand.
USA TODAY contributed to this article.
