Giant Blue Moon: What is this rare phenomenon that will happen on Thursday?
Astronomy enthusiasts will be able to observe the super blue moon, a rather rare phenomenon, on the night of Wednesday, August 30 to Thursday, August 31.
It’s an impressive event to watch closely, but also from a very long distance. According to NASA, from the night of Wednesday, August 30 to Thursday, August 31, the world’s population will be able to observe a very rare lunar phenomenon that occurs only once every ten or twenty years: the super blue moon.
The fruit of two lunar phenomena
Contrary to its name, the super blue moon will not be blue. This adjective for the color comes from the phrase “once is a blue moon,” indicating the rarity of the event, which would simply be the second full moon in August.
This blue moon phenomenon will be added to the giant moon phenomenon, when the moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit, about 364,000 km from Earth. With this approach to Earth, the lunar star will be larger and brighter than usual.
The combination of these two lunar phenomena makes it a very rare astronomical event according to NASA.
The US Federal Agency estimates that the next super blue moon will be in January 2037.
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