The Blue Moon Supermoon

A few weeks ago, I shared my photos of the Full Sturgeon Moon on Vocal. You can see the story below.

With the Full Sturgeon Moon happening on August 1st, I knew that we would have a Blue Moon Supermoon during the last day of this month. I wanted to document the event with my camera and show you some photos.

First thing first, though. What is a Blue Moon? Nothing to do with the color. The term applies to the second full moon in a calendar month. There is another (much older) definition, which, this time, focuses on the astronomical season. If there is an extra full moon (four events instead of three) during that season, the third event will be called a Blue Moon. You would then have a year with 13 full moons rather than the usual 12.

(The first definition is the most commonly followed these days.)

In any case, the term is used to designate something that only occurs every two and a half years on average. So, it is quite rare. But not as rare as getting two Blue Moons in one year. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the last event dates back to 2018, while the next one will not be here until 2037!

Fascinating, isn't it?

Well, wait until I tell you (again) about the word "supermoon," which was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle at the end of the 1970s. A supermoon happens during a full or new moon, when our natural satellite is closest to the Earth in orbit. The result is a larger- and brighter-than-usual show in the sky. How much larger? Apparently, around 10-11%.

And now, let me add another interesting fact: This Blue Moon Supermoon is the closest and brightest moon of 2023! How close? Around 222,000 miles or 357,000 kilometers!

While doing some research, I also discovered that this specific supermoon coincides with a Hindu festival that celebrates the bond between brothers and sisters—Rakhi Purnima or Raksha Bandhan.

On this day, sisters of all ages tie a talisman or amulet called the rakhi around the wrists of their brothers. They symbolically protect them, receive a gift in return, and traditionally invest the brothers with a share of the responsibility of their potential care.

Raksha Bandhan is observed on the last day of the Hindu lunar calendar month of Shraavana, which typically falls in August. The expression "Raksha Bandhan" (Sanskrit, literally "the bond of protection, obligation, or care") is now principally applied to this ritual.

- Source: Wikipedia

(I love learning new things!)

And now, time to share my photos.

I started my session at around 11 pm last night. Clouds were moving across the Moon, which made it look a little otherworldly.

About half an hour later, the sky was finally clear!

There are tall trees around my backyard, so I wanted to use branches to cover part of the Moon and create an eclipse-like effect. The result is very cool, if you ask me!

Last shot of the night...

For those interested in particulars, here are the settings I used:

• Camera: Nikon D750
• Lens: Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED
• ISO: 100
• Focal length: 500 mm
• Aperture: f/11
• Exposure: 1/125

Please note that I did not edit my shots.

That's it for today! Thank you for reading!

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Cendrine Marrouat is a writer, photographer, podcaster, blogger, anthology editor, and the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms and A Warm Cup of Cozy. She has authored and co-authored more than 40 books, including The Train: A Short Story (2023), In Her Own Words: A Collection of Short Stories & Flashku (2022), After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartine (2021), Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020), Walks: A Collection of Haiku (2019-2020), and In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018).

Cendrine's work has appeared in many publications. She is the creator of the Sixku, Flashku, Sepigram, and Reminigram; as well as the co-creator of the Kindku, Pareiku, Vardhaku, and Hemingku.