The next Full Moon is on Sunday, August 10, 2014, appearing opposite the Sun at 2:09 pm EDT. The Moon will appear full for about three days centered on Sunday afternoon, from late Friday evening/early Saturday morning through late Monday evening/early Tuesday morning. The Maine Farmers Almanac first published Indian names for the full Moons in the 1930s. According to this almanac, the Native Americans tribes of what is now the northern and eastern United States named the second full Moon of the summer season the Sturgeon Moon, as sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were more readily caught at this time of year. A few tribes called this the Full Red Moon because the rising Moon appears reddish through the sultry hazes of summer. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon. This will be the Super Moon for the year. The orbit of the Moon is not a circle, so sometimes the Moon is closer to the Earth and other times it is farther away. When the Moon is full and closest to the Earth it appears about 30% brighter than when it is full and farthest from the Earth. On the day of the full Moon, Sunday, August 10, 2014, the Moon will be at its closest to the Earth at 1:43 pm EDT, just 26 minutes before the peak of the full Moon. If you are interested in more about why some Moons are brighter than others, I wrote this up a few years ago and can send it to you upon request (I did not include it here, as these Moon Missives are too long as they are). As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon. Perhaps you should consider reading some Theodore Sturgeon in honor of the Sturgeon Moon as well... …and for Star Trek fans, a side note on the author Theodore Sturgeon. According to Wikipedia (the fount of all knowledge, much of it accurate) Theodore Sturgeon wrote over 200 stories, mostly science fiction but some horror and mystery stories. He wrote several Star Trek scripts, two of which were produced. His Star Trek scripts introduced into the series pon far, the Vulcan hand symbol, live long and prosper, and (in a script that was not produced but that influenced later scripts) the Prime Directive. As to other celestial events between now and the full Moon after next: Now that we are past the summer solstice and into the summer months, the daily periods of sunlight are getting shorter. For the Washington, DC area (times in EDT), on the day of the August full Moon, morning twilight will begin at 5:13 am and the Sun will rise at 6:17 am. The Sun will reach a maximum elevation of 66.6 degrees at 1:13 pm, sunset will be at 8:09 pm, and evening twilight will end at 9:13 pm. By the time of the full Moon in September, sunrise will be 26 minutes later at 6:43 am, the maximum altitude the Sun reaches will be 10 degrees lower in the sky at 56.6 degrees, and sunset will be 42 minutes earlier at 7:27 pm. On the morning of the August full Moon, as morning twilight begins, the bright stars of the local arm of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, will be visible in the southeast. The bright planet Venus will appear about 6 degrees above the north-northeast horizon, and the bright planet Jupiter will be just rising below Venus. As the month progresses Jupiter will appear higher in the sky each morning, while Venus will appear to shift lower in the sky. They will pass each other the morning of Monday, August 18, 2014, and by morning twilight on the day of the September full Moon Jupiter will be about 20 degrees above the eastern horizon, while Venus will be on the horizon below the bright star Regulus. On the evening of the August full Moon, as evening twilight ends, the bright star Vega, in the constellation Lyra (the lyre), will appear almost directly overhead. Vega is the brightest of a trio of stars called the Summer Triangle, along with Altair (to the southeast of Vega) in the constellation Aquila (the eagle) and Deneb (to the northeast of Vega) in the constellation Cygnus (the swan). To the southwest in an approximate line about 20 to 25 degrees above the horizon will be (from left to right) the bright star Antares, the planet Saturn, the planet Mars, and the bright star Spica. Over the weeks Saturn and Mars will appear to shift closer to and pass each other, so that by the time of the full Moon in September, Mars and Saturn will appear to have switched places, with Mars on the left and Saturn on the right. Several meteor showers will be active between now and the full Moon after next, but none are expected to produce significant shows, particularly for those of us living in urban areas. If you happen to be out in an area with dark skies on a clear night after midnight, you just might see a meteor or two. The tail end of the Alpha Capricornids will continue until Sunday, August 10, 2014, and the tail end of the Southern Delta Aquariids will continue until Saturday, August 23, 2014. The Perseids are usually one of the best meteor showers of the year, peaking in the early morning on Wednesday, August 13, 2014, and tailing off until Tuesday, August 26, 2014. This year the light of the full Moon will interfere with the visibility of the Perseids during the peak. The Perseid meteors are caused by dust from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. On Monday evening, August 4, 2014, from right to left, Spica, Mars, Saturn, the waxing gibbous Moon, and the bright star Antares will appear to form an arc across the south-southwestern sky. On Wednesday afternoon, August 6, 2014, at about 4 pm EDT, Near Earth Object (2014 OV299), between 14 and 31 meters (46 to 102 feet) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 9.5 lunar distances, traveling at 13.24 kilometers per second (29,620 miles per hour). In early August, the planet Venus and the bright star Pollux will appear near each other low in the east-northeast before dawn. They will be at their closest when we cannot see them (from North America, at least), on Wednesday evening, August 6, 2014. On Thursday morning, August 7, 2014, at about 5:40 am EDT, Near Earth Object (2014 OF300), between 13 and 30 meters (43 to 98 feet) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 3.8 lunar distances, traveling at 15.58 kilometers per second (34,850 miles per hour). On Friday, August 8, 2014, Mercury will be passing on the opposite side of the Sun from the Earth, hidden from view by the glow of the Sun. As mentioned above, the next Full Moon will be on Sunday afternoon August 10, 2014. On Monday evening, August 11, 2014, at 8:53 pm EDT, Near Earth Object 398188 (2010 LE15), between 330 and 750 meters (1,100 to 2,500 feet or 0.21 to 0.47 mile) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 15.5 lunar distances, traveling at 9.43 kilometers per second (21,100 miles per hour). Tuesday evening, August 12, into Wednesday morning, August 13, 2014, will be the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. This year, unfortunately, the light from the nearly full Super Moon will make it difficult to see all but the brightest meteors. Early Saturday morning, August 16, 2014, at 12:46 am EDT, Near Earth Object (2014 MP5), between 120 and 270 meters (390 to 890 feet) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 17.5 lunar distances, traveling at 8.98 kilometers per second (20,100 miles per hour). On Sunday morning, August 17, 2014, the waning Moon will appear half full as it reaches its last quarter at 8:26 am EDT. On Sunday afternoon, August 17, 2014, at 4:19 pm EDT, Near Earth Object (2013 WT67), between 670 meters and 1.5 kilometers (0.42 to 0.93 mile) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 16.1 lunar distances, traveling at 11.68 kilometers per second (26,130 miles per hour). In the mornings of mid-August the bright planets Jupiter and Venus will appear near each other in the east-northeast. They will be at their closest on Monday morning, August 18, 2014. Try looking around the time morning twilight begins (about 5:22 am EDT for the Washington, DC area), in the east-northeast about 5 degrees above the horizon. The Beehive cluster of stars will be nearby, adding to the show. Also on Monday morning, August 18, 2014, the waning crescent Moon will appear near the bright star Aldebaran. For the Washington, DC area (in EDT), the Moon will rise at about 12:30 am, Aldebaran at about 1 am, and they will continue to appear to shift closer until they are lost in the glow of dawn (morning twilight will begin at about 5:22 am). We will not be able to seen Aldebaran when they are at their closest on Monday afternoon (at around the time the Moon sets). By Tuesday morning, August 19, 2014, the waning crescent Moon will appear to have shifted to the other side of Aldebaran, with Aldebaran rising at about 12:56 am, the Moon rising at 1:17 am. They will appear to drift apart until they are lost again in the glow of dawn. On Monday, August 18, 2014, at about 11:40 am EDT, Near Earth Object (2014 OO6), between 58 and 130 meters (190 to 427 feet) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 11.6 lunar distances, traveling at 17.05 kilometers per second (38,140 miles per hour). On Saturday morning, August 23, 2014, the bright planets Jupiter and Venus will appear near the thin, waning crescent Moon. Try looking a little east of east-northeast just as morning twilight begins (at around 5:28 am EDT for the Washington, DC area), with Venus to the left about 4 degrees above the horizon, the Moon to the right about 7 degrees above the horizon, and Jupiter between and above, about 8 degrees above the horizon. Monday morning, August 25, 2014, at 10:13 am EDT, will be the New Moon. Throughout this period in the evening sky the two planets Mars and Saturn appear near each other in the southwest. For the Washington, DC area, look to the southwest, about 20 to 25 degrees above the horizon, as evening twilight ends (a little before 9 pm EDT). They will appear to drift closer to each other until Monday evening, August 25, 2014, when they will be less than 4 degrees apart. After this, they will appear to separate again each evening. On Friday evening, August 29, 2014, the bright star Spica will appear just below the waxing crescent Moon. Try looking in the west-southwest just as evening twilight ends (at about 8:43 pm EDT for the Washington, DC area), when the Moon will be about 10 degrees above the horizon and Spica will be about 3 degrees below the Moon. On Friday night, August 29, 2014, at 11:14 pm EDT, Near Earth Object 163132 (2002 CU11), between 580 meters and 1.3 kilometers (0.36 to 0.81 miles) in diameter, will pass the Earth at about 13.5 lunar distances, traveling at 26.09 kilometers per second (58,360 miles per hour). On Sunday evening, August 31, 2014, the bright planets Saturn and Mars will appear near the waxing crescent Moon. Try looking in the southwest just as evening twilight ends (at about 8:40 pm EDT for the Washington, DC area), when the Moon will be about 21 degrees above the horizon, with Saturn to the lower right and Mars to the lower left. On Tuesday morning, September 2, 2014, the waxing Moon will appear half full as it reaches its first quarter at 7:11 am EDT. On the morning of Friday, September 5, 2014, and again on the morning of Saturday, September 6, 2014, just as morning twilight ends (at about 5:40 am EDT for the Washington, DC area), the bright planet Venus and the bright star Regulus will appear near each other. To see them, you will need a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon a little east of northeast, as they will appear only about a degree above the horizon. Saturday, September 6, 2014, is International Observe the Moon Night. Search on-line to find an event near you! The full Moon after next, the Harvest Moon, will be on Monday evening, September 8, 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:25:03 +0000
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