Starship Asterisk*

Supermoon Beyond the Temple of Poseidon

Explanation: A supermoon occurred yesterday. And tonight's moon should also look impressive. Supermoons appear slightly larger and brighter than most full moons because they reach their full phase when slightly nearer to the Earth -- closer than 90 percent of all full moons. This supermoon was also a blue moon given the definition that it is the third of four full moons occurring during a single season. Blue moons are not usually blue, and a different definition holds that a blue moon is the second full moon that occurs during a single month. The featured image captured the blue supermoon right near its peak size yesterday as it was rising beyond the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. This supermoon is particularly unusual in that it is the first of four successive supermoons, the next three occurring in September, October, and November.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

I have always known that a "blue moon" is the term for the 2nd FULL moon of a given month. Is there a term for for the 2nd NEW moon of a given month? The people at Griffith Park Observatory, Los Angeles, couldn't answer my question.

Thank You

William Rehm

werehm wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 3:25 pm I have always known that a "blue moon" is the term for the 2nd FULL moon of a given month. Is there a term for for the 2nd NEW moon of a given month? The people at Griffith Park Observatory, Los Angeles, couldn't answer my question.

Not that I've ever heard. It is worth noting that the term "blue moon" to refer to the second full moon in a season (its original use) or the second full moon in a month is very new, not even a century old, and has not been widely used in that context except in the last few decades.

Not surprised. There likely is no term for a 2nd NEW moon in a month. The Full moon is obviously noticeable and has always been romanticized. By definition, an earthling can't see a NEW moon. The only time it gets noticeable press is during a total eclipse, like the one recently.

This supermoon was also a blue moon given the definition that it is the third of four full moons occurring during a single season.

This supermoon is particularly unusual in that it is the first of four successive supermoons

Hmm, how are both of those statements true?

johnnydeep wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 5:44 pm

This supermoon was also a blue moon given the definition that it is the third of four full moons occurring during a single season.

This supermoon is particularly unusual in that it is the first of four successive supermoons

Hmm, how are both of those statements true?

There are no more blue moons this year. (2024 has one blue moon by either definition)
Summer has four full moons, two are super moons (one is the seasonal blue moon) and Fall has three full moons, two are super.
Nothing about these four consecutive super moons conflicts with a seasonal blue moon (3rd of 4 full moons).
FYI, 2025 has no blue moons by either definition.

alter-ego wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 6:38 pm

johnnydeep wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 5:44 pm

This supermoon was also a blue moon given the definition that it is the third of four full moons occurring during a single season.

This supermoon is particularly unusual in that it is the first of four successive supermoons

Hmm, how are both of those statements true?

There are no more blue moons this year. (2024 has one blue moon by either definition)
Summer has four full moons, two are super moons (one is the seasonal blue moon) and Fall has three full moons, two are super.
Nothing about these four consecutive super moons conflicts with a seasonal blue moon (3rd of 4 full moons).
FYI, 2025 has no blue moons by either definition.

Ok,so:

[ - - F1 F2 - - FSM3 - F4 - - - ] : where all the Full moons are within this single depicted bracketed season, the dashes are other moon phases, and FSM3 is the first of 4 successive supermoons that may well extend into following seasons.

Or something like that.