2 Supermoons In August, Rare Phenomenon Won't Be Seen Again For 14 Years

The month of August will offer stargazers a chance to witness two supermoons, a rare phenomenon called the blue moon. A supermoon appears when a full moon is closer to Earth that its normal distance, making it appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter compared to when it is furthest away. The phenomenon takes place because the moon orbits the Earth in a slightly elliptical orbit, due to which it is sometimes closer to Earth and sometimes a little further away.

The first supermoon will occur on August 1 (Tuesday) when the moon will be 357,530 km away from Earth, according to The Guardian. The will be the second supermoon of this year - the first one took place on July 2.

A similar phenomenon will again take place on August 30 when the moon will be 357,244 km from the Earth, said the outlet.

These figures compare with a distance of about 405,696km when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth.

"Warm summer nights are the ideal time to watch the full moon rise in the eastern sky within minutes of sunset, and it happens twice in August," retired NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak told Sky News about the supermoons next month.

According to Royal Museums Greenwich, if the sky is clear of clouds, the full moon will be an unmistakable white orb in the sky. "This is a good opportunity to use a small telescope or a pair of binoculars to see the moon's detailed surface, or even try taking a few interesting moon photos."

The last time two full supermoons appeared in the same month was in 2018 - and it won't happen again until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi.