Tonight’s blue moon is the closest it will be to the earth this year. This moon shot was taken Aug. 22, 2023.
LOGAN – On Wednesday, Aug. 30, a Blue Moon or Super Blue Moon, will appear in the eastern sky after sunset. This supermoon is the last full moon of the summer and meets all the criteria of blue moon and it reaches the point nearest to earth in its orbit, known as perigee.
The moon will be about 226,000 miles from earth tonight.
Unfortunately, you may not get a good look at it if the clouds and haze return in the eastern sky in Cache Valley.
Nevertheless, it is a fun astronomical event that anyone with a clear view can see without going to a dark sky park.
There won’t be another Blue Super Moon until 2037.
James Coburn who leads activities at Utah State University’s observatory said calling it a blue moon is not a technical term. It is a cultural term and it is the second full moon in the month of August.
“The moon might be as much as 14 percent bigger this time,” he said. “It’s kind of like the size of a nickel compared to the size of a quarter. This supermoon might be the closest it typically gets this time and that’s why they’re calling it a super moon.”
The sun and moon may look like they are the same size, but the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun and the sun is about 400 times further away.
Wendell Waters is a member of the Cache Valley Astronomical Society, a group of amateur astronomers that meet to view and talk about stars.
Waters isn’t impressed with the moon.
“The thing is astronomers hate the moon,” he said. “It is the last object we want to look at as astronomers. We tend to avoid the full moon; it is so bright we can’t see the detail.”
They may look at the different phases and determine the textures because the light and dark have depth they can’t see during a full moon.
“I would doubt any of us are going to watch the moon. It is a nuisance to astronomers.”
Tonight’s moon should be a fun astronomical event that anyone can see without going to a dark sky park. It also could be the brightest moon for several years.