On the night of August 30-31, 2023, this year’s largest moon will be visible in the night sky. Saturn and Jupiter will accompany the Moon. Moscow Planetarium astronomer Lyudmila Koshman said that Saturn will accompany the full moon all night and be slightly above it. Jupiter will join them after 22:00 and will be visible to the left (east) of this celestial pair. writes about it RIA News.
This is a full moon that occurs near perigee, the Moon’s closest approach to Earth. Astronomers call this phenomenon a “supermoon.” Especially when viewed close to the horizon, it attracts the attention of observers with its brightness and size. The Full Moon on August 31 will enter its near-perigee phase just 9 hours and 45 minutes after approaching Earth. For this reason, the full moon period between 29-31 August can be called the super moon of 2023.
Koshman also explained that there are two full moons in August, which is an unusual event. There are usually about 29.53 days between two full moons, which is slightly shorter than the average length of a month. This causes an additional full moon to accumulate on the calendar approximately every 2.7 years, resulting in 13 full moons each year instead of the usual 12. As a result, two full moons occur in the same calendar month.
Koshman noted that as the human eye compares it to surrounding landscape elements such as houses and trees, the size of the moon is especially noticeable when the moon is rising, that is, when it is low above the horizon.
In addition, it was noted that Saturn accompanying the Super Moon will pass the opposite point on August 27 and will be clearly seen on the southern horizon, and the Moon in the contraction phase will pass by Jupiter on the night of September. 5.
The astronomer concluded that he hopes the weather will be clear so that everyone can enjoy the biggest full moon view of 2023 on August 30-31.
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