What is the `sturgeon moon` and when does it appear?

Weather of Arabia - when the moon races around the planet with the sun, it passes through 12 or 13 full lunar phases every year, and each of these phases has a different name in different regions around the world, and in Western popular astronomy the names of the full moon were derived from the time-keeping traditions of the indigenous American tribes .

What is sturgeon moon?

According to the Farmers' Almanac report, the August full moon was named after the sturgeon moon, after the sturgeon found in the Big Five Lakes: Lakes Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Superior.

Algonquin fishing tribes gather along the shores of large lakes and other major bodies of water to catch sturgeon, a prehistoric fish that can grow to over 12 feet in length.

Because these fish were such an important part of the tribe's survival, the full moon in August became known as the "Full Sturgeon Moon."

And the tribes who lived in the far south known the full moon of August as the full red moon , because the haze that accumulates in late summer makes the moon appear reddish in color.

It was also called the Green Corn Moon or the Grain Moon , because late summer marks the beginning of harvest, to stock up on food before the coming cold months.

The word "sturgeon" in English means "engine", which is what this giant fish does when it searches for food; It moves mud and sediment at the bottom of rivers and lakes. Pay attention to the pointed nose and thorn-like sensory organs near the mouth. Photo: Tennessee Aquarium.

When does the sturgeon moon appear?

Today, Tuesday, the world's sky will witness the phenomenon of the giant moon - the sturgeon moon - as the moon will be at its closest point to the planet Earth, also known as the full moon.

According to Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Astronomical Society; The Earth will witness the next giant full moon on the first of August 2023 at 18:31 UTC, followed by the giant blue moon on the 31st of August.

Al-Jarwan stressed that the phenomenon of the giant moon does not have climatic effects or the occurrence of phenomena on the ground, and the effect may be in a high sea tide that is more than usual, but not significantly.

He also explained that the supermoon is not an official astronomical term, but it was circulated by those interested and observers as of 1979, indicating that it was defined as a “full moon” and occurs when the moon is at or near 90% of its perigee position, which is the closest location to Earth in its orbit. The point on the moon's orbit that is closest to Earth is called the perigee, and the farthest point is the aphelion.

He stated that when the moon is close to the Earth by 216,500 miles (surface to surface), it is called the perigee position, and at its farthest position it reaches 247,700 miles, the apogee position, and on average the distance is about 382,900 kilometers (238,000 miles).

The giant moon is also known as the full moon that occurs when the center of the moon is less than 360,000 km (about 223,694 miles) from the center of the Earth.

Al-Jarwan indicated that with this definition, the earth may witness what is known as the “giant moon” several times during the year, and the earth witnesses this phenomenon during the current year three times, the first was on the third of July, then the first of August, and the 31st of August, which is the closest to the perihelion site During 2023, by 97%, as its distance from Earth reaches 341.257 thousand km, and finally on the 29th of September. He showed that the angular size of the supermoon is 12.5% - 14.1% larger than the small full moon, and 5.9% -6.9% larger than the average full moon.