A rare blue supermoon is turning Wednesday night at 8:25 p.m. CST, gracing Texas with a mesmerizing lunar event.
Contrary to its name, a blue moon isn’t blue. The term “blue moon” signifies the occurrence of a second full moon within the same calendar month. Hence, the phrase “once in a blue moon” is used to refer to an infrequent occasion.
A supermoon occurs when the moon is full while it is at its closest to the Earth, a point known as perigee. This causes the moon to look bigger and more luminous.
Moreover, at just 222,043 miles away, this supermoon is closer than any other full moon this year. It will appear “about 8% larger than a normal full moon and 15% brighter than a normal full moon,” said Dave Teske, an astronomer and lunar topographic studies coordinator for the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, according to NPR.
No instruments are necessary to behold what will be the closest and brightest full moon of the year.
“Get out there and observe it. Just enjoy the beautiful view of the moon,” Teske urged. “Really think about what you’re seeing out there.”
Social media platforms are already buzzing with the news of the blue supermoon, which was actually visible on Tuesday night despite not officially turning.
Images from all over the world are already streaming in, with one showing the moon over the Temple of Apollo in Greece.
Another supermoon, the last of the year, will occur on September 29. This is known as the harvest moon, which means it is the closest full moon to the autumnal equinox.
Yet the next blue supermoon won’t happen again until 2037, as estimated by Gianluca Masi, an Italian astronomer and founder of the Virtual Telescope Project, according to AP News.
As recently reported in The Dallas Express, since full moons are associated with unusually high tides, Wednesday morning’s arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Florida could result in more significant coastal flooding.
