If the skies are clear, the final’supermoon’ of 2022 will emerge in Australian sky during the following two nights, providing a stunning lunar show.
The Sturgeon Moon will cap off a year of remarkable blood-red and brighter-than-average moons.
There will be no further supermoons until 2023, so those who want to see it must bundle up and endure the August chill, with the optimum viewing low on the horizon as the moon rises.
The supermoon of August rises on Thursday evening, but it will be at its peak on Friday, August 12, 25 minutes before midnight (AEST).
However, the best time to observe it is early in the evening during moonrise.
On Australia’s east coast, it means keeping an eye on the horizon after 4.20pm (AEST) on Thursday and after 5.30pm (AEST) on Friday. What is the significance of the name Sturgeon Moon?
The popular term for the August full moon has survived for centuries, starting with Indigenous origins and appearing in America’s Old Farmer’s Almanac in the 1700s.
While the phrase’s history is murky, Native American tribes claim credit for naming this specific moonrise.
Around the same time as the moon appeared, the indigenous people of America noted a greater quantity of the massive sturgeon fish in the ocean. Sturgeons may grow to be more than 2.5 meters long and weigh more than 100 kg.
Corn Moon is an English term inspired by the abundance of crops at the start of the Northern Hemisphere harvesting season.
Lynx Moon, Dispute Moon, and Lightning Moon are among other names for unusually timed moons.
What’s the big deal about a supermoon?
The phrase “supermoon” is not an official astronomical term, but it refers to when a full moon coincides with the moon’s closest point to Earth in its orbit, known as its perigee.
The phrase was coined in the 1970s by Richard Nolle, with most definitions permitting the full moon to appear at any moment during 24 hours of its closest approach to Earth to count.
The exact word, ‘perigee-syzygy moon,’ is a mouthful, so it’s simple to understand why supermoon is a prevalent phrase.
The alignment of the sun, moon, and Earth during new and full moons is referred to as syzygy.
The ‘Super Flower Blood Moon’ in May was Australia’s most spectacular supermoon of the year, with the engorged moon becoming red for 90 minutes.
The next Blood Moon will appear in the night sky on November 8, this year, and will be visible from Asia, Australia, North America, and much of South America.