This week, astronomers may enjoy a rare blue supermoon and Saturn’s sneaky appearance from behind. The second full moon of the month, which is why it is referred to as blue, rises Wednesday night,
Drawing back the cosmic curtain. It is known as a supermoon because it is larger and brighter than usual due to its proximity to Earth. With a distance of about 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers), this full moon will be the nearest of the year.
That is closer than the August 1 supermoon by more than 100 miles (160 km).
As a bonus, NASA reports that at sunset in the east-southeastern sky, Saturn will be seen as a brilliant point 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon. As the night goes on, the ringed planet will seem to move in a clockwise direction around the moon.
You should attend this performance if you missed the first one of the month. Gianluca Masi, the head of the Virtual Telescope Project and an Italian astronomer, predicts that the next blue supermoon won’t occur until 2037.
Masi’s attempt to webcast the supermoon rising earlier this month was unsuccessful due to clouds. In order to catch the blue supermoon glowing above St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, he is hoping for calmer skies this time.
If the weather is right, viewers only need “their own eyes,” according to Masi, rather than binoculars or telescopes. “I’m always excited to admire the beauty of the night sky,” he remarked, especially when it has a blue supermoon. July 2023 saw the first supermoon of 2023. The final and the fourth will take place in September.
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