After the spectacular Perseid meteor shower, the “shooting stars” of St. Lorenzo’s Night and the Northern Lights sighted in northern Italy on August 12, a new fascinating astronomical event is now appearing in our sky, with the Moon playing the main role. 19 August 2024 at 20:26 Italian time. They call it “Super-Sturgeon Moon”or “Seasonal blue moon.” These are names that make you think of something special, but can also lead to misunderstandings: The Moon it will not appear blueand it will not be a special or exceptional event. “Supermoon” is in fact a journalistic term – it is not part of the technical astronomical jargon – coined in 1979 to designate a new or full moon that occurs when our satellite is within 90% of its maximum approach to the Earth (the so-called “perigee”). It is therefore the largest (up to 10%) and brightest (up to 30%) full moons of the yearIt will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year.
When and where can you see the supermoon of August 19, 2024?
There Sturgeon Supermoon coincides with the time when the moon Phase of totality (Full Moon) Monday evening, 19 August 2024shortly after sunset, at 20:26 Italian timeThe event will visible to the naked eye from all over Italy, but we still recommend using binoculars to appreciate the details of the fascinating lunar surface.
At 20:26 the moon will very low on the horizonat a distance of approx. 361,000 km from Earthabout to emerge in East/Southeast directionIt is therefore necessary, at least at the beginning of the evening, toEast/Southeast horizon completely clearmaybe by the sea, considering the current season.
Due to its low altitude above the horizon, the moon appears characteristic reddish colorcaused by most thick layer of the atmosphere that the moonlight has to penetrate, compared to high in the sky. The thicker atmospheric layer actually means that visible light Blue, green and purple are distributed from the molecules present in the air and leaves behind undisturbed only the Red component of visible light, which gives the moon its characteristic reddish color.
Why is it called a super sturgeon moon?
The term Supermoon or sturgeon moon has its origins in the Native American MythologyThe first mention of the Sturgeon Moon is found in an almanac of farmers from Maine (USA), who began using Native American names for full moons in 1930. Since then, the use of these names has become popular all over the world.
According to this almanac, the Indian tribe of Algonquins He called the full moon in August the sturgeon moon because this species of fish easier to catch at this time of year in the region large lakesthe northeastern area of the United States of America where this population was native.
The term Blue Moon It is a folkloric name that designates the second full moon of a solar month or, as in this case, the third full moon in a season with four full moons.
