The final supermoon of 2022 will rise in the skies over Chicago on Thursday night, and if you miss the show, you’ll have to wait nearly a year to see it again.
A “supermoon,” defined by NASA as a full moon that occurs when the celestial body is closest to Earth in its orbit, is an infrequent occurrence, although this year there will ultimately be four in a row when the full moon occurs on Thursday.
During a supermoon, the full moon can appear brighter than normal, with NASA saying that the closer proximity to Earth gives the appearance of a brighter moon, although the amount of light it’s reflecting from the sun, or it’s “luminance,” is technically the same.
The traditional name for the August full moon is the “Sturgeon Moon,” owing to Native Americans’ reliance on the huge numbers of sturgeon that were pulled from the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
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The Anglo-Saxons referred to the August full moon as the “Grain Moon,” while the Celts called it the “Lynx Moon,” according to TimeandDate.com.
If you miss this month’s supermoon, you’re going to have to wait a while to see another one. According to NASA, the next supermoon isn’t scheduled until Aug. 1, 2023, but next year will feature two supermoons within the same month, as another full moon will occur on Aug. 31.
A second full moon in a calendar month is traditionally known as a “Blue Moon,” meaning that a “Super Blue Moon” will occur on that date.
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This year, the Sturgeon Supermoon will coincide with the apex of the Perseids meteor shower, which will hit its peak late Thursday night and into Friday morning.
That annual meteor can send between 60 and 100 meteors through the atmosphere at its peak, and with the full moon in the sky, it will be easiest to see those streaks of light after midnight, according to astronomers at the Adler Planetarium.
