The last month of winter is here in the southern hemisphere and with it brings another lunar event: the Sturgeon supermoon.
This fishy Moon will be the last in a series of supermoons that Australia has seen over the past four months.
In fact, Friday's Sturgeon Moon marks the last time Australians will see a supermoon until 2023.
When can I see the Sturgeon supermoon in Australia?
The month's supermoon will be visible from Thursday evening and at its peak on Friday, August 12, at 11:35am AEST.
Its peak is when the moon will be at its fullest, but don't be put off by its mid-morning debut: The supermoon will still be shining as the sun sets on Australia.
When is the best time to see it?
Moonrise is when you'll be able to get the clearest view of the sturgeon moon, so — for those living on Australia's east coast — keep your eyes to the eastern horizon any time after 4:20pm AEST on Thursday, August 11, or after 5:30pm AEST on Friday, August 12.
Why is it called a Sturgeon supermoon?
It all comes back to the The Old Farmer's Almanac, and a bunch of fish.
First published in 1792, the reference book was the first to refer to the Moon as "sturgeon", because of the large number of sturgeon fish that were found in the North American Great Lakes around that time of year.
However, there are many different names for what is colloquially known as the Sturgeon Moon: Various Native American tribes refer to it as the Corn Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe), Harvest Moon (Dakota), and Ricing Moon (Anishinaabe) as it signifies a time of harvesting and crop abundance.
There are a few interesting names given to supermoons. Here's what they are, by the month:
- January: Wolf Moon
- February: Snow Moon
- March: Worm Moon
- April: Pink Moon
- May: Flower Moon
- June: Strawberry Moon
- July: Buck Moon
- August: Sturgeon Moon
- September: Harvest Moon
- October: Hunter's Moon
- November: Beaver Moon
- December: Cold Moon
What makes a supermoon super?
A supermoon is defined by its close proximity to the Earth, or perigee.
As the Moon's orbit is not perfectly circular, the perigee is the name for the point of closest approach.
The closer the Moon, the brighter and bigger it will appear in the sky.
First coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, some say a supermoon is any full or new moon that occurs within 24 hours of it making its closest approach to Earth for that month.
Others say it is when the full moon comes within 360,000 kilometres of Earth.
This Sturgeon Moon will be the most marginal of the 2022 supermoons, but it still falls within the 360,000km benchmark.
What other supermoons have we seen in 2022?
Since May we've experienced a supermoon event every month — the Buck Moon in July, the Strawberry Moon in June and the Flower moon in May.
The Flower Moon in May coincided with a total lunar eclipse — which was seen best in the northern hemisphere — that turned the Moon partially red for 90 minutes, earning it the name "Super Flower Blood Moon".
Africa, Europe and the Americas got the best view, with Australian's experiencing a penumbral lunar eclipse, where the edge of the Earth's shadow fell over the moon.
Australians will get their next Blood Moon on November 8, this year, when a total lunar eclipse will be visible from Australia, Asia, North America and most of South America.
Look out for the Perseid meteor shower straight after
Once you've marvelled at the Sturgeon supermoon, keep an eye out on August 13 for the Perseid meteor shower — the peak of meteor shower season, which can see as many as a hundred shooting stars per hour skimming across the night sky.
While the recent full Moon will make the meteors a little less visible, you can see if you can spot some from 5am on Saturday morning.
Pro tip: Face north for the highest chance of seeing a shooting star.
