The evening of Thursday, August 11, witnessed the appearance of the fourth and last giant moon of the year, which is known as the “sturgeon moon” in some parts of the world.
The full moon of August is also known as the Green Corn Moon, the Grain Moon, and even the Red Moon.
The full moon is expected to reach its peak at 9.36 pm EST (0:36 am GMT), when it is high in the sky, but will appear larger when it rises in the east at sunset.
The name “sturgeon moon” comes from the Algonquin Native American tribes, who noticed that sturgeon were more easily caught at this time of year, according to NASA.
This full moon will be the last giant moon in 2022. The giant moon occurs when the full moon coincides with its arrival at the closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit around our planet, which is known as perigee.
A supermoon can appear 14 to 30 percent brighter than a full moon at apogee, the point at which the moon is at its farthest from Earth along its orbit.
It is noteworthy that the peak of this next giant full moon will come a day after the moon reaches perigee, which will occur on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 10.
The moon will appear full from Wednesday to Friday. Therefore, it will be a hindrance for amateur astronomers in observing other sky activities, as the peak of the full moon on August 11 coincides with the Perseid meteor shower, which is one of the best meteor showers of the year. The event is caused by comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle’s passing through Earth, which takes 133 years to orbit the sun.
The Pershaweya meteor showers are expected to peak on August 13, but will remain active until September 1.
