When is The Full Moon in August? The Sturgeon Full SuperMoon 2023
Last Updated: November 9, 2023
The upcoming full Moon in August will grace our night sky on Tuesday August 1, 2023 at 2:31 PM EDT or 6:31 PM UTC. During this particular phase of its lunar cycle, the Moon will have aged 13.99 days, offering an almost perfect illumination of 98.71%.
With a tilt angle of 94.426°, our natural satellite will be located approximately 359,180.68 km away from Earth. This equates to about 223,184.52 miles, or roughly 0.00240 Astronomical Units (AU). This means the Moon will only be about 0.7% away from its average perigee distance (closest distance from Earth), so it will earn the title of supermoon!
In terms of light travel time, this distance corresponds to approximately 0.0199 light minutes. In the realm of astrology, the Moon will align with the sign of Capricornus on this day. This full Moon is the second supermoon of this summer season and the second one this year as well.
Countdown to the August Full Moon
August Full Moon Stargazing Information
The Moon’s magnitude, a measure of its brightness, will be -12.81. In astronomical terms, a lower value signifies a brighter object, which means the Moon will be exceptionally bright during this event.
The terms Ra/Dec refer to the Moon’s position in the sky, known as Right Ascension (Ra) and Declination (Dec). These coordinates will be 21h 23m44.1s and -21°15’26.8″, respectively, corresponding to the celestial longitude and latitude.
Similarly, the terms Az/Alt denote the Moon’s azimuth and altitude, which represent the Moon’s direction and height from the horizon, respectively. These will be 140°06’56.5″ for the azimuth and +21°21’23.9″ for the altitude.
The Moon will have an apparent diameter of 33 arcminutes and 24 arcseconds, so even though it will be quite enjoyable to the naked eye, observing it with a basic set of binoculars or a small telescope, will allow for a detailed exploration of its surface features if using a lunar filter. It might be too bright otherwise.
Additional information:
- Moonlight intensity: Vey High
- Moonlight shadows: Strong
- Culmination time: location dependent
- Moonrise time: location dependant
- Moonset time: location dependent
- Supermoon? Yes
- Micromoon? No
- Blue moon? No
- Lunar Eclipse: No
- Conjunctions? None
Nearby night sky objects:
The Moon will be located in the heart of the Capricornus constellation, in between Theta Capricorni and and Omega Capricorni which are the two stars forming the around leg part of the constellation. In terms of deep sky objects, the closest objects are globular clusters Messier 30 (the jellyfish cluster) and M75.
There is a blue Moon happening this month!
August this year is a rather special month for lunar lovers because it will host two full Moons within its 31 calendar days. Which means we will have our first blue Moon of the year! So here’s the infos on this extra full Moon:
The upcoming blue Moon will grace our night sky on Monday, August 31, at 01:35 UTC. During this particular phase of its lunar cycle, the Moon will have aged 14.35 days, offering a near perfect illumination of 99.93%.Â
With a tilt angle of 50.069°, our natural satellite will be located approximately 357,247 km away from Earth. This equates to about 221,982.94 miles, or roughly 0.00238 Astronomical Units (AU). This means the Moon will only be about 2% away from its average perigee distance (closest distance from Earth), so it will earn the title of blue sturgeon supermoon!
In terms of light travel time, this distance corresponds to approximately 0.00198 light minutes. In the realm of astrology, the Moon will align with the sign of Pisces on this day. This full Moon is the third supermoon of this summer season and this year as well. It’s also the first and only blue moon of 2023!
August Blue Moon Stargazing Information
The Moon’s magnitude, a measure of its brightness, will be -12.77. In astronomical terms, a lower value signifies a brighter object, which means the Moon will be exceptionally bright during this event.
The terms Ra/Dec refer to the Moon’s position in the sky, known as Right Ascension (Ra) and Declination (Dec). These coordinates will be 23h 45m03.7s and -05°32’21.3″, respectively, corresponding to the celestial longitude and latitude.
Similarly, the terms Az/Alt denote the Moon’s azimuth and altitude, which represent the Moon’s direction and height from the horizon, respectively. These will be 102°19’57.7″ for the azimuth and +07°22’48.9 for the altitude.
The Moon will have an apparent diameter of 33.25 arcminutes, so even though it will be quite enjoyable to the naked eye, observing it with a basic set of binoculars or a small telescope, will allow for a detailed exploration of its surface features.
Additional information:
- Moonlight intensity: High
- Moonlight shadows: Strong
- Culmination time: location dependent
- Moonrise time: location dependant
- Moonset time: location dependent
- Supermoon? Yes
- Micromoon? No
- Blue moon? Yes
- Lunar Eclipse: No
- Conjunctions? Yes – Neptune
Nearby night sky objects:Â
The Moon will be located in between Pisces and Aquarius and Cetus. A conjunction with Neptune will happen that night, although the glow of the full moon might make it a little harder to see this distant faint planet. There will be no notable deep-sky objects near the Moon at this time.
Why is the Full Moon in August called the Sturgeon Moon?
This is the time of year when a particularly large fish from the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water in the North such as Lake Champlain is most easily caught. To commemorate this time of abundance, the Native American fishing tribes named it the Sturgeon Moon.
Other tribes referenced the crops of this time of year such as the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon. Since the moon looks slightly reddish during its rising this time of year due to the reflected sunlight entering our atmosphere at particular angles, some tribes called it the Red Moon.
Celtic names included the Dispute Moon and Lynx Moon while the Anglo-Saxons referred to it as the Grain Moon. Other English names include the Corn Moon and Lightning Moon. In China, it is known as the Harvest Moon.
Related reading: The Meaning Behind the 12 Full Moon Names
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Observing this sturgeon full Moon with astronomical equipment
The Moon offers a variety of interesting features that you can observe, even with modest equipment. The Moon is without a doubt the easiest celestial object to observe with a backyard telescope or a pair of astronomical binoculars.
The Moon can shine a rather bright light when it is full so the use of a special lunar filter can help improve your view of the Moon. This is an additional component that reduces the amount of light coming into the telescope, making it easier to see the details without being blinded.
It essentially works much like ‘sunglasses’ for your telescope. It reduces glare and improves contrast, allowing you to see more detail. The filter threads into the bottom of an eyepiece, so it’s easy to add or remove as needed.
A smaller aperture telescope (60mm to 80mm) can provide good views of the Moon. You’ll be able to see a decent amount of detail, including larger craters and lunar maria.
Medium aperture telescopes (around 100mm to 150mm) will give you a much better view, revealing many more features and allowing you to see smaller craters and other details.
With large aperture telescopes (200mm and above), that’s where the magic happens! You’ll see more detailed views of the edges of lunar maria, where they meet the highlands.You’ll be able to discern more subtle color differences in the lunar surface as well as mountain ranges casting subtle shadows on the lunar surface. You might be able to see hints of the lunar domes, which are gentle, rounded mounds thought to be the remnants of ancient lunar volcanoes.
Be sure to choose the correct eyepiece as it will greatly influence your field of view at the eyepiece. Try my field of view calculator to determine the best eyepiece for your lunar observations.
Planning your lunar observation with Stellarium
Stellarium is a free open-source planetarium for your computer that shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope. It’s one of my favourite stargazing applications. I use it on a weekly basis and it’s super easy to use.
Here is a step by step guide to use it for timing your observation of the upcoming sturgeon full Moon:
- Set Your Location: Open https://stellarium-web.org/ into your internet browser. In order to find accurate rise and set times for the Moon, you need to set your geographic location. Click on the “Location Window” button on the left toolbar. In the window that pops up, search for your city in the “Search” field, then click on your city’s name in the list. This sets your location.
- Set the right time: Stellarium can show you the sky at any time, past, present, or future. To get the full Moon time, which in August will be the 1st and the 31st, you need to click on the “Date/time window” button on the bottom right of the screen. You can also manually adjust the time by hours and minutes and see the sky move before your eyes.
- Locate the Moon: Now, you need to find the Moon in the sky. You can do this by using the search function. Click on the “Search Window” button on the centre top of screen. Type “Moon” into the search field and press enter. The view should now center on the Moon.
- Check Moonrise and Moonset Times: Once the Moon is centered, an information box should pop up on the upper left corner of the screen. This box will provide various details, including the moonrise and moonset times for the chosen day.
Dates & Times for the other Moon phases in August
Besides the full moon, there are seven other major phases in the lunar cycle: the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent. Each of these phases presents a unique view of the moon and contributes to the lunar cycle that we observe from Earth.
- Third Quarter on Tuesday, 08 August 2023 at 03:28 PDT
- New Moon on Wednesday, 16 August 2023 at 02:39 PDT
- First Quarter on Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 02:57 PDT
The next sturgeon full Moon will take place on Monday, August 19 2024, at 2:19 PM EDT or 6:19 PM UTC.
Lunar Luminosity: the full Moon’s light influence on the world
The full Moon has a few notable influences on Earth:
- Tides: The gravitational pull of the Moon causes the Earth’s oceans to bulge out in the direction of the Moon.
- Light: A full Moon provides significant natural light at night, which can affect nocturnal animals’ behavior and plant life.
- Floral behaviours: Some species of plants, such as the Ephedra foeminea (also known as werewolf plant) releases its pollen in sync with the full Moon.
- Human behavior: There have been many theories on how the full Moon may affect humans differently, whether it be our sleep pattern, our cardiovascular system, menstruation cycles, and our mood and mental health. However, despite much scientific research that has been done in the last ten years, scientists have not been able to prove the effects of the full Moon on human psychology or behavior.
Full Moon celebrations around the world
The full Moon has been a significant cultural symbol and theme throughout human history, appearing in myths, legends, superstitions, and rituals across the globe. In Thailand, the full Moon is celebrated every month during the infamous full Moon party.
In Sri Lanka, each full Moon day is a public holiday, known as Poya. Each Poya has its own name and is associated with Buddhist events. These days, people often go to the temple for religious observances.
In Wiccan traditions, an Esbat is a ritual observance of the full Moon. It’s a time for meditation, divination, and spellwork that align with the peak of the Moon’s energy.
In China, the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is celebrated during the full Moon of the 8th lunar month (usually September). Families gather to admire the Moon, eat mooncakes, and in some regions, light lanterns.
If you know of any more celebrations that should be added to this list, let me know in the comment.
How dull would our night sky be without our natural satellite? Why not use this full moon as an opportunity to plan a lovely stargazing date with someone special in your life?Â
Past Full Moons This Year
- The January ‘Wolf” Full Moon
- The February ‘Snow’ Full Moon
- The March ‘Worm” Full Moon
- The April ‘Pink” Full Moon
- The May ‘Flower” Full Moon
- The June ‘Strawberry’ Full Moon
- The July ‘Buck’ Full Moon
Future Full Moons This Year
