Full Sturgeon Moon Tonight

 

August will be a month of exciting celestial events for all
who love watching the night skies.  Beginning with the
rising of the Full Sturgeon Moon tonight, this moon will
be the second "supermoon" of the year.  According to
 the Old Farmer's Almanac,  four "supermoons" in
a row is an unusual sequence for the moon.

 

Full Sturgeon Moon 

Image courtesy/almanac.com

  A "supermoon" is a catchy term for what astronomers call, "a perigean full Moon"
or when the full Moon is the closest to the earth in orbit, and will appear
larger and brighter as it rises into the night sky.

August's first full Moon will rise this afternoon and reach peak illumination
at 2:32 pm ET.   This evening just after sunset, look for lovely Luna to rise
 over the southeastern horizon.  Depending on how warm it is in your
neck of the woods, she may appear more yellow or orange in color.

Later on this month there will be a phenomenon known as a "Blue Moon".
This occurs when there are two full moon cycles in a single month.
This later moon will be the closest "supermoon" of the year and 
 will peak on Wednesday August 30th around 9:36 pm ET.

The eighth month moon is traditionally called the Sturgeon Moon.
At this time of the year, the giant Sturgeon of the Great Lakes  
and in Lake Champlain were plentiful and easily caught by the
 American Indian tribes who once lived in these areas, and later
 by white settlers who made their living as commercial fishermen.

Sturgeon are prehistoric-looking fish whose origins date back about
136 million years.  Many people have called them, "living fossils".

Although there are still sturgeon in many parts of the world today,
these fish have become increasingly rare in North America due to
overfishing in the 19th century, and because of pollution, which
has been damaging to their habitats.  There are, however,
some of these formidable-looking, " living fossils" that still 
swim in the deep waters of the Midwestern Great Lakes,
and in Lake Champlain, which lies between the states of
New York and Vermont, and extends northward
into the Canadian province of Quebec.

The word, "Sturgeon" means "the stirrer" which is what this giant fish does when it is looking for food;

it stirs up the mud and silt on the river and lake bottoms.  Notice the pointed snout and whisker-like

tactile organs near the mouth.  Image courtesy/Tennessee Aquarium

 🥮 I hope the skies are clear where you're at tonight! 🐟