August’s full sturgeon moon is a blue moon and first of four supermoons in a row

SAN ANTONIO – August’s full moon will be a supermoon and a blue moon.

The moon will appear full for three days, from Sunday morning to Wednesday. It will peak at 1:26 p.m. in San Antonio on Monday. Of course, you’ll have to wait until after sunset to see it.

August’s full moon is known as the “sturgeon moon” because the fish was once abundant in August in the Great Lakes region. It’s also referred to as the green corn moon, the barley moon, the dog moon and the fruit moon.

This month’s full moon will be the first of four supermoons in a row. Every full moon through November will be a supermoon.

A supermoon means that the moon appears slightly larger than normal because it’s at or near perigee — meaning it’s at the point in its orbit that it’s closest to Earth. The moon will appear about 14% bigger in size and 30% brighter compared to the moon at apogee (farthest from Earth).

August’s full moon is also a blue moon.

There are two kinds of blue moons, according to NASA, and neither has anything to do with the actual color of the moon. A seasonal blue moon refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. A monthly blue moon is the second full moon within one calendar month. This month’s full moon falls in the first category.

Other astronomical events

The full moon isn’t the only astronomical event worth checking out this month.

On Wednesday, Mars and Jupiter will appear as close together as they’ll get until 2033.

And the Perseids are back. Skygazers can see more than 50 meteors per hour through Sept. 1.