The next full moon is a Supermoon, a Blue Moon and Rakhi Purnima.
The next full moon will be on the evening of Wednesday, August 30, 2023, and will appear opposite the Sun (at Earth's longitude) at 9:36 p.m. EDT. The planet Saturn, just days away from its closest and brightest point of the year, will appear close to the Moon. At the end of evening twilight (at 20:42), Saturn will be 5 degrees from the upper right corner of the Moon. and will appear to rotate clockwise around the Moon as the night progresses. The Moon will appear full for 3 days near the peak of the Full Moon, from Tuesday night to Friday morning.
This will be a supermoon. The publications use different thresholds to decide which moons qualify as "super," but all agree that in 2023, both full moons in August qualify.
This full moon will be the second full moon of August, making it a Blue Moon according to the most recent definition introduced by Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946. The earliest definition of a Blue Moon, dating back to at least the 16th century, is the name of the third full moon in a season that has four moons. By this definition, the August 2024 Full Moon will be the Blue Moon, and this Full Moon, as the last Full Moon of the summer, shares some of the seasonal names in my August 1st Full Moon post. Neither of these settings has anything to do with the color of the Moon, so a Blue Moon will not actually appear blue. See https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/07jul_bluemoon.html for more information on a time when the Moon actually turned blue.
This full moon corresponds to the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan, also called Rakhi or Rakhi Purnima, which celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters. A tradition is that sisters of all ages tie a rakhi (cotton bracelet) around their brother's wrist, receiving a gift from the brother in return, as a sign of their continued bond. The term "Raksha Bandhan" can be translated as "the bond of protection, obligation or care".
In many traditional lunar and lunar calendars, the full moon falls near the middle of the lunar months. This Full Moon occurs in the middle of the seventh month in the Chinese calendar, Safar in the Islamic calendar, and Elul in the Jewish calendar. Elul is a time of preparation for the Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Customs include granting and asking for forgiveness from others, and beginning or ending all letters with a wish for the recipient to have a good year.
As usual, appropriate attire is recommended to celebrate the sky in honor of the full moon. Take care of your brothers, put the bad things aside and wish him a happy new year!
As for other celestial events between now and the full moon after next (with specific times and angles based on the location of NASA headquarters in Washington, DC):
As summer ends and fall begins, the daily periods of sunlight continue to decrease and change more rapidly around the autumnal equinox.
On Wednesday, August 30, 2023 (the day of the full moon), morning twilight will begin at 5:35 AM. EDT, sunrise will be at 6:35 a.m., solar noon will be at 1:09 p.m. when the Sun will reach its maximum altitude. 60.0 degrees, sunset will be at 7:42 p.m. and evening twilight will end at 8:42 p.m. The autumnal equinox will be Saturday, September 23, with sunrise at 6:57 AM. and sunset at 7:04 p.m. On Friday, September 29 (the day after the next full moon), morning twilight will begin at 6:04 AM, sunrise will be at 7:02 AM, solar noon will be at 12:58 AM a.m., when the Sol will reach its maximum high elevation of 48.6 degrees, sunset will be at 6:54 p.m. and evening twilight will end at 7:52 p.m.
No meteor shower is predicted to peak during this lunar cycle. Three small showers will culminate with 6 or less visible meteors per hour in ideal conditions (essentially invisible in our well-lit urban environments).
Night Sky Highlights:
On the night of Wednesday, August 30, 2023 (the night of the full moon), when evening twilight ends (at 8:42 p.m. EDT), the rising moon will be 8 degrees above the east-southeast horizon with the planet Saturn 5 degrees in the upper right corner. The planet Mars will set on the western horizon. The brightest star to appear near the top will be Vega, at 85 degrees above the eastern horizon. Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, Lyra is one of the three brightest stars in the Summer Triangle (along with Deneb and Altair). Vega is the fifth brightest star in our night sky, about 25 light-years from Earth, twice the mass of our Sun, and 40 times brighter than our Sun.
As this lunar cycle progresses, the background of stars and the planet Saturn will appear to move west each night (as the Earth moves around the Sun), while the planet Mars will move more slowly on the western horizon. After September 1, Mars will be below the horizon when evening twilight ends. The crescent moon will pass Spica on September 17th (difficult to see as it sets just after twilight), Antares on September 20th, and Saturn on September 26th.
On the evening of Thursday, September 28 (early the night after the next full moon), when evening twilight ends (at 7:53 p.m. EDT), the rising Moon will be 12 degrees above the east-southeast horizon. The planet Saturn will be 23 degrees above the southeastern horizon. The brightest star seen closer to the top will still be Vega, at 83 degrees above the western horizon.
Snapshots of the morning sky:
On the morning of Thursday, August 31, 2023 (the morning of the night of the full moon), when morning twilight begins (at 5:36 a.m. EDT), the setting moon will be 14 degrees above the west-southwest horizon. The planet Saturn will be in the lower right corner of the Moon, 7 degrees above the west-southwest horizon. The other two visible planets will be bright Jupiter, at 66 degrees above the southern horizon, and the even brighter Venus, at 9 degrees above the eastern horizon. At 66 degrees, Jupiter will be the brightest object closest to the apex (with the bright star Capella a close second, at 65 degrees above the east-northeast horizon).
As this lunar cycle progresses, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and the star background will appear to move west each night. September 8th will be the last morning Saturn will be in the sky as morning twilight begins. Beginning on September 14, Mercury will rise before the onset of morning twilight, conjoining Venus and Saturn. Mercury will be hard to see at first, but it will brighten quickly each morning. Venus will reach its maximum brightness on September 19 (when Venus is near its maximum brightness, it will be visible during the day). Mercury will reach its greatest angular separation from the Sun on September 22nd and will appear at its highest point above the horizon when morning twilight begins the following morning on September 23rd. The tight Moon will transit Jupiter on September 4th, Pollux on September 10th, Venus on September 11th and 12th and Regulus on September 13th.
On the morning of Friday, September 29 (the morning of the next full moon), when morning twilight begins (at 6:04 a.m. EDT), the full moon will set 11 degrees above the western horizon. The three visible planets will be Venus (brightest) at 29 degrees above the eastern horizon, Jupiter at 48 degrees above the west-southwest horizon, and Mercury (brightest) at 4 degrees above the eastern horizon. The nearest bright star to be seen from above will be Capella (at 83 degrees above the north-northwest horizon). Capella is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the charioteer. Although we see Capella as a single star (the sixth brightest in our night sky), it is actually four stars (two pairs of stars orbiting each other). Capella is about 43 light years away from us.
Detailed daily guide:
Here, for your reference, is a daily list of celestial events from now until the next full moon. Times and angles are based on the location of NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, and some of these details may vary depending on your location (I use parentheses to indicate specific times for the DC area).
On the evening of Thursday, August 24, 2023, the bright star Antares will appear close to the half-full Moon, so close that in much of Canada, the United States and northern Mexico, the Moon will pass in front of Antares. For the Washington, DC area, when evening twilight ends (8:52 p.m. EDT), Antares will be one degree to the Moon's left and disappear behind the Moon's dark side about an hour later (at 10:00 pm ). 53 hours). Antares will reappear from below the Moon about 45 minutes later (around 11:41 p.m.), but the Moon's bright edge will initially obscure this reappearance. Antares will be on the west-southwest horizon for the first time about 14 minutes later (at 23:55). See http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0824zc2366.htm for details on this occultation in your area.
On Saturday morning, August 27, 2023, the planet Saturn will be at its closest and brightest for the year, called "opposition" because it will be opposite the Earth from the Sun, effectively a "full" Saturn. Saturn will be 10 degrees above the east-southeast horizon by the end of evening twilight on Friday, August 26 (at 8:48 p.m. EDT), reaching its highest point in the sky on Saturday morning (at 1:48 p.m. EDT). 13 a.m.) until it is 11 degrees above the west-southwest horizon when morning twilight begins (at 5:32 a.m.). Only planets orbiting farther from the Sun than Earth can be seen in opposition to Earth.
On the morning of Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at 11:55 a.m. EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, the closest point to Earth in this orbit.
From Wednesday night to Thursday morning, August 30 and 31, 2023, the planet Saturn, a few days away from its closest and brightest point of the year, will appear near a full moon. When evening twilight ends (at 8:42 p.m. EDT), the Moon will be 8 degrees above the east-southeast horizon with Saturn 5 degrees to the upper right. Saturn will appear to rotate clockwise around the Moon as the night progresses. The Moon will reach its highest point in the sky 4.5 hours later (Thursday morning at 1:23 AM) with Saturn 7 degrees to the right. When morning twilight begins (at 5:36 a.m.), the Moon will be 14 degrees above the west-southwest horizon with Saturn 8 degrees below to the right.
As mentioned above, the next full moon will be on the evening of Wednesday, August 30, 2023, and will appear opposite the Sun (at Earth's longitude) at 9:36 p.m. EDT. The Moon will appear full for 3 days at the time of the Full Moon, from Tuesday night to Friday morning. This full moon will be the second full moon in August, making it a blue moon under the most recent definition introduced by Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946. As this full moon occurs near the time when the moon is closest to Earth (perigee) , this will be a supermoon.
The night of Friday, September 1, 2023, will be the last night that the planet Mars will be above the western horizon as evening twilight ends (at 8:38 p.m. EDT), setting one minute later.
From Sunday evening until the morning of Monday September 3 and 4, 2023, the planet Jupiter will appear near the waning and waning Moon. As Jupiter rises above the east-northeast horizon (at 10:16 PM EDT), it will be 8 degrees from the Moon's lower left corner. The Moon will reach its highest point in the night sky 6.5 hours later (at 4:00 PM EDT). 45 AM) with Jupiter at 6 degrees to the left of the Moon. Morning twilight will begin about an hour later (at 5:40 am).
On the evening of Monday, September 4, 2023, the waning and waning Moon will have moved to the other side of Jupiter. As the Moon rises above the east-northeast horizon (at 10:14 PM EDT), Jupiter will be 6 degrees to the right. The pair will separate as the night progresses.
On the morning of Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the planet Mercury will pass between Earth and the Sun as seen from Earth, called inferior conjunction. Planets orbiting within Earth's orbit can have two types of conjunctions with the Sun, inferior (when they pass between Earth and the Sun) and superior (when they pass on the other side of the Sun). Mercury will transition from the night sky to the morning sky and begin to emerge from the dawn glow on the eastern horizon in mid-September (depending on viewing conditions).
On the evening of Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the waning Moon will appear half full when it reaches its last quarter at 6:21 p.m. EDT.
The morning of Friday, September 8, 2023, will be the last morning that the planet Saturn will be above the horizon when morning twilight begins.
On Sunday morning, September 10, 2023, the bright star Pollux will appear above the waning crescent moon. As the Moon rises above the northeastern horizon (at 2:10 a.m. EDT), Pollux will be 3 degrees above the Moon. Bright Venus will rise above the east-northeast horizon 2 hours later (at 4:07 AM), appearing about 20 degrees below the Moon, with Pollux 4 degrees above the Moon. When morning twilight begins 1.5 hours later (at 5:46 AM), Pollux will have moved 5 degrees above the Moon with Venus 19 degrees below the Moon. The bright star Regulus will be at 18 degrees to the lower left corner of Venus.
On the morning of Monday, September 11, 2023, the thin crescent moon will have moved 12 degrees to the upper left corner of Venus.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 12, 2023, the thin crescent Moon will have moved 13 degrees to the lower left corner of Venus, with the bright star Regulus 10 degrees below the Moon.
At noon on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 11:43 a.m. EDT, the Moon will be at apogee, the furthest point from Earth in this orbit.
On the morning of Wednesday, September 13, 2023, the bright star Regulus will be 5 degrees to the right of the very thin crescent moon. The planet Mercury will be 8 degrees lower to the Moon's right, but it will be hard to see since it will rise a few minutes after morning twilight begins and will not be very bright (a crescent that is only 11% bright).
The morning of Thursday, September 14, 2023, will be the first morning that the planet Mercury will be above the horizon when morning twilight begins. It will be hard to see at first, only 14% illuminated, but it will brighten each morning as the Sun shines brighter from its Earth-facing surface.
Thursday evening, September 14, 2023 at 9:40 p.m. EDT, there will be a new Moon, when the Moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. The day or day after the New Moon marks the start of the new month in many lunar calendars. The eighth month of the Chinese calendar will begin on September 15.
Sunset on Friday, September 15, 2023 will begin Rosh Hashanah (the New Year), the two-day celebration of the Jewish New Year that will conclude at sunset on Sunday, September 17. Series of holidays in Tishrei, the first month of the Jewish calendar. The tenth day of Tishrei is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, called the "Days of Deus," are a time to reflect on the mistakes and lessons of the past and make resolutions for the new year. The fifteenth of Tishrei (near the full moon after the next) is the beginning of the 7-day holiday of Sukkot.
In the Islamic calendar, months traditionally begin with the first appearance of the crescent moon. Many Muslim communities now follow Saudi Arabia's Umm al-Qura calendar, which uses astronomical calculations to start the months in a more predictable way. Using this calendar, sunset on the evening of Friday, September 15, 2023, will likely mark the beginning of Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. During this month, some Muslims celebrate Mawlid, Muhammad's birthday.
On Sunday evening, September 17, 2023, if you have a very clear view of the west-southwest horizon, you will be able to see the bright star Spica 3 degrees in the lower right corner of the thin crescent. They can be hard to see. You should look before the end of evening twilight, since when twilight ends (at 8:11 p.m. EDT), Spica will be near sunset and the Moon will be only 2 degrees above the horizon. The Moon will set 17 minutes later (at 20:28).
Solar Noon to Solar Noon Monday 18 September to Tuesday 19 September 2023 will be the shortest solar day of the year. At 23 hours, 59 minutes and 38.6 seconds, it will be 21.4 seconds shorter than the 24-hour average used by our modern clocks.
On Tuesday, September 19, 2023, the planet Venus will be at its brightest for the year, a good estimate of when Venus will be at its brightest. The greatest brightness is calculated based on the distances and angles between the Sun, Venus and Earth, making a simplified assumption about how Venus scatters sunlight. When shining, Venus can be seen during the day (if the sky is clear enough and you know where to look). The greatest brightness occurs about 36 days before and after inferior conjunction.
On the evening of Wednesday, September 20, 2023, the bright star Antares will appear in the upper left corner of the crescent moon. Antares will be within 5 degrees of the Moon when evening twilight ends (at 8:06 PM EDT). When the Moon sets in the west-northwest horizon less than 2 hours later (at 9:57 PM), Antares will be within 4 degrees of the Moon. In some areas of East Asia, the Moon will pass in front of Antares. , blocking your view (see http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/bstar/0921zc2366.htm for more information).
On the evening of Thursday, September 21, 2023, when evening twilight ends, the Moon will have moved 8 degrees across Antares. The pair will separate as the night progresses.
The morning of Friday, September 22, 2023, will be when the planet Mercury reaches its greatest angular separation from the Sun as seen from Earth for this appearance (called greatest elongation). Because the angle of the line between the Sun and Mercury and the horizon changes with the seasons, the date on which Mercury and the Sun appear farthest from each other when viewed from Earth is not always the same as when Mercury appears. higher above the horizon. as in the morning Twilight begins, which occurs the next morning, Saturday, September 23.
On the evening of Friday, September 22, 2023, the Moon will appear half full when it reaches the first quarter crescent at 3:32 p.m. EDT.
On Saturday morning, September 23, 2023, at 2:50 a.m. EDT, will be the autumnal equinox, the astronomical end of summer and the beginning of fall. The Sun will move from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere, passing the Earth's equator over the Indian Ocean this year.
On Sunday, September 24, 2023, a mission I worked on before retiring from NASA, OSIRIS-REx, will deliver a sample of the surface of the asteroid Bennu to Earth. NASA's live coverage of the capsule landing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.
From Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, September 26 and 27, 2023, the planet Saturn will appear near the crescent moon. Saturn will be 4 degrees from the Moon's upper left corner when evening twilight ends (at 7:56 PM EDT). When the Moon reaches its highest point in the night sky a little more than 3 hours later (at 11:07 p.m.), Saturn will be 3 degrees to the upper right. When Saturn sets below the west-southwest horizon a little more than 5 hours later (at 4:24 AM), it will be 4 degrees to the lower right of the Moon.
On Wednesday evening, September 27, 2023, at 9:06 p.m. EDT, the Moon will be at perigee, the closest point to Earth in this orbit.
The next full moon will be on the morning of Friday, September 29, 2023, and will appear opposite the Sun (at Earth's longitude) at 5:58 AM. EDT. That will be Thursday night, Hawaii and Cook Islands time, west of the International Date Line. The Moon will appear full for 3 days right now, from Wednesday night to Saturday morning.