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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Rare full blue supermoon Monday night above Minnesota

They happen every 10 years on average, although we saw one last August

Supermoon
A supermoon rises over Washington, D.C.
Bill Ingalls | NASA

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Full. Blue. Supermoon.

This rare combination only occurs about every 10 years on average, although interestingly it happened just last August. The next time it happens, we’ll be 13 years older in 2037!

Here’s why Monday’s full blue supermoon is an unusual event.

Full: This year's August full moon hit peak brightness at 1:26 pm CDT Monday. So it will still be bright and appear full on Monday night. According to my trusty Minnesota Weatherguide calandar, the Ojibwe called this August full moon the ricing moon. The Lakota call it their harvest moon.

Blue: There are two criteria for a blue moon. The first is two full moons in the same month. The second is the third full moon of four in a season. Monday’s full moon is the third full moon of this astronomical summer season. So it is a seasonal blue moon.

Supermoon! A supermoon occurs when the moon is closer than 90 percent of moon approaches to Earth. Here’s more from NASA:

This will be a supermoon. The term "supermoon" was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 as either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of its closest approach to Earth. Since we don't really see new Moons, what has caught the public's attention are full supermoons as they are the biggest and brightest full Moons of the year. This will be the first of four consecutive supermoons this year (with the full Moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year). 

The Maine Farmer's Almanac began publishing "Indian" names for full Moons in the 1930s and these names have become widely known and used. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in August the Algonquin tribes in what is now the northeastern USA called this the Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that were more easily caught this time of year in the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water. Other names reported for this Moon include the Red Moon, the Corn or Green Corn Moon, the Barley Moon, the Herb Moon, the Grain Moon, and the Dog Moon.

The full moon rises at 8:34 p.m. in the Twin Cities. It may appear red near the horizon due to layers of wildfire smoke above Minnesota. But skies should be mostly clear above Minnesota Monday night.

Enjoy!