National Park Service/Homestead
The Next Full Moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon; the Sturgeon Moon; the Red, Corn, Green Corn, Barley, Herb, Grain, or Dog Moon; Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi Purnima; and Tu B'Av.
The full Moon will be Monday afternoon, August 19, 2024, at 2:26 PM EDT. This will be Tuesday morning from Nepal Standard Time eastward across the rest of Asia and Australia to the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning through early Wednesday morning.
This will be a supermoon. The term "supermoon" was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Since we don't really see new Moons, what has caught the public's attention are full supermoons as they are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. This will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year (with the full Moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year).
Although it will not look blue, as the third full Moon in a season with four full Moons, this will be a Blue Moon. The first recorded use of "Blue Moon" in English dates from 1528. Speculations on the origin of the term include an old English phrase that means "betrayer Moon" (because it led to mistakes in setting the dates for Lent and Easter). Or it may be a comparison to rare events such as when dust in the atmosphere makes the Moon actually appear blue. Since the 1940's the term "Blue Moon" has also been used for the second full Moon in a month that has two full Moons.
