The Moon appears fuller and brighter when, in its elliptical orbit, it is getting closer to the Earth.
When it is closest, it appears 14% bigger in size and 30% brighter – relative to its farthest position – and is called a Supermoon.
The term Supermoon was coined by astrologer, Richard Nolle, in 1979 to mean when the full Moon is within 90% of Earth’s perigee, that is, at the point when it is closest to Earth.
The Supermoon in the month of August is called a Sturgeon Moon, and it is called a Flower Moon when it occurs in May.
The Old Farmers Almanac, which was started in 1930 by Indians, called this Supermoon in August a Sturgeon Moon because plenty of Sturgeon fish were caught this period in the great lakes in North America. They also called it the Flying Up Moon, Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Grain Moon, Herb Moon, Harvest Ricing Moon, Black Cherries Moon, Mountain Shadows Moon, Red Moon, Dog Moon, Esala Poya and Start of Vassa Moon.
The Supermoon or Sturgeon Moon for August, 2024, was on 19 August and lasted for three days.
The Supermoon closest to the beginning of autumn is called a Harvest Moon. For 2023, the Harvest Moon was on 29 September, and was the last of four Supermoons for that year.
The last Supermoon for 2024 was on 15 November and was called the Beaver Moon.
The Supermoon in November got the name Beaver Moon because it is the period beavers were hunted for their thick fur as they store food before their winter hibernation.
The Beaver Moon is also called the Digging Moon, Deer Rutting Moon.
The Moon completes a revolution round the Earth in 29.5 days. When a Supermoon appears twice in a month, which it does rarely, it is called a Blue Moon.
A Blue Moon appeared last in 2018. In 2023, it appeared on 1st August, and again on 30 August, 2023. The next will be in 2037.
On the average, the Moon is 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away.
Its orbit is elliptical or oval (not circular) and the distance from Earth can be 253,440 miles (405,504 km) at the apogee, when it is farthest from the Earth.
The Moon, in its orbit, is closest to the Earth – in its perigee – just 222,000 miles (355,200 km) away.
A total lunar eclipse may coincidentally, happen at the same time as a Supermoon as it did on 16 May, 2022.
In such an eclipse, the Moon is referred to as Blood Moon because it appears reddish or ‘bloody’ in colour.
This happens as the Earth moves between it and the Sun, completely blocking sunlight and engulfing it in its shadow.
The Moon is then, said to be passing through the Umbra of the Earth’s shadow.
In a partial lunar eclipse, the Moon passes through the Penumbra of the Earth’s shadow – only a part of the Moon is covered by the Earth’s shadow.
The double coincidence of both a Flower Moon and a Blood Moon is called a Super Flower Blood Moon.
Unlike in a solar eclipse – where the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth – observers can safely watch a lunar eclipse without wearing protective eye googles.
Each of the Moon’s special appearances can only be experienced by observers in a part of the Earth at a time because the two bodies, Earth and the Moon, are in perpetual motion.
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