If you don't look up at the moon very often, tonight's the night you should. It's a lunar trifecta of sorts, and it's all the rage. This month's full moon is being called a "super blue moon.
" Don't know what that is? Read on. The moon completes one orbit of Earth , with the phases of the moon occurring once every 29.5 days.
However, the orbit isn't circular but elliptical, sort of like an elongated circle. That means the moon varies in its distance from Earth. When it's closest, it's called perigee, and when it's farthest, it's called apogee.
So, because the moon is closer and is brighter and somewhat larger in the sky, it is now referred to colloquially as a "supermoon." Supermoons occur roughly three to four times a year. The last one was the day of the total solar eclipse, on April 8.
The term "supermoon" isn't a scientific one. It doesn't come from astronomy but rather astrology. It was , who claimed that a supermoon would cause earthquakes and an increase in severe weather.
However, no connection has been found. In fact, a found that there was no connection between supermoons and earthquakes. There are a couple of definitions for a blue moon.
The first is when there are two full moons in a month; the second is when there are four full moons in a season instead of the usual three. And it's not the fourth moon that is considered blue; it's the third, as is the case with this month's full moon. Since the start of summer on June 20, there has been a full moon on June 21, Jul.