A rare “Supermoon” was expected to be visible across India on August 19, 2024, at 11.56 PM IST. People refer to this special phenomenon by many names such as full moon, supermoon, pink moon, or blue moon. However, NASA has cleared up some conceptions and misconceptions regarding this rare phenomenon.
The first question that arises is what is Supermoon? How often does a Supermoon occur? NASA explained, “The Moon travels around our planet in an elliptical orbit, or an elongated circle, with Earth closer to one side of the ellipse. Each month, the Moon passes through the point closest to Earth (perigee) and the farthest point from Earth (apogee). When the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth at the same time as it is full, it is called a Supermoon.”
Another set of questions that arises is what causes a blue moon? Why is it called a blue moon? And is a blue moon actually blue? According to NASA, a monthly blue moon occurs when we see the full moon twice in a month.
The Moon’s cycle lasts 29.5 days, which is slightly shorter than a calendar month. Eventually, with enough days left for another full cycle, that gap causes a full moon to occur at the start of a month, meaning there will be two full moons in one month. In other words, there will most likely be a second full moon on the 30th or 31st of a month after a full moon that occurs on the first or second of that month. This phenomenon happens every two to three years.
But is the blue moon blue in color? NASA stated that “blue moon” is a term used to denote two full moons in a month, or the third full moon in a season with four. However, in rare cases, the moon can be blue in color, when tiny particles in the air like smoke or dust scatter away red wavelengths of light, giving the Moon a blue appearance.
NASA ended its explanation by stating that Supermoon and Bluemoon cannot occur together as supermoon occurs within a day or so of perigee while the latter occurs in the last two or three days of the month.
