JACKSON, Wyo. — The next full moon will rise over Jackson Hole on Aug. 1, the first of two full moons during August and the second supermoon of 2023.
The full Blue supermoon will rise on Aug. 30. The full moon will be considered a “monthly Blue moon” because it is the second full moon in a calendar month.
The Aug. 1 full moon will have plenty of viewing opportunities. The moon will be above 90% illumination, appearing full from July 31 through Aug. 3, giving ample opportunities to catch a moonrise. At moonrise, the moon appears biggest due to the moon illusion.
Monday’s moonrise will be at 8:42 p.m., with Tuesday’s at 9:22 p.m. and Wednesday’s at 9:45 p.m.
To be a supermoon the moon is less than 360,000 kilometers (ca. 223,694 miles) from the center of Earth. The next supermoon is Aug. 30 and the final full supermoon of the year is Sept. 29.
August’s full moon has been referred to as the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of summer, says the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Sturgeon fish have been traced back to around 136 million years ago but are rare today due to overfishing in the 19th century.
The Nêhiyawak (Cree) call the August full moon the “Flying Up Moon,” which describes the time when young birds are finally ready to take the leap and learn to fly.
Other names include the “Corn Moon” (Anishnabek, Ojibwe), the “Harvest Moon” (Dakota), the “Ricing Moon” (Anishinaabe) and the “Black Cherries Moon” (Assiniboine).
According to Old Farmer’s Almanac, these names signify that this is the time to gather maturing crops or harvest wild fruits that have ripened.
The Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest traditionally called this time of the season the “Mountain Shadows Moon.”
