August’s full moon will not be a supermoon.
ATLANTA — The Sturgeon Moon will rise in the night sky this weekend. The moon turns full at 3:55 a.m. Saturday morning, Aug. 9. Both Friday and Saturday nights, the moon will appear full overhead.
The Sturgeon Moon is a common name for the August full moon each year, which stems from the Native American names used for each full moon. This full moon occurred around the same time that sturgeon fish were more easily caught.
If you want to see the moon in the night sky, moonrise time in Atlanta is 8:27 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, and the moon will set Saturday morning, Aug. 9, at 7:03 a.m. There will be partly cloudy skies overhead.
The Sturgeon Moon will not be a Supermoon or Micromoon. But we can look forward to three supermoons later this year in October, November and December.
Also In the August Sky: Perseid Meteor Shower
This full moon also comes near the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower. This yearly meteor shower is often one of the best of the year, as debris fragments from the dust cloud of comet Swift-Tuttle enter Earth’s atmosphere. About the size of a grain of sand, they travel around an estimated 37 miles per second, creating bright streaks of light.
The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on Aug. 12 and 13. Due to the waning gibbous moon still over 80% illuminated, there will be plenty of light pollution interfering with the view of the meteors.
Normally, around 50 to 75 meteors per hour can be seen in dark, rural locations, according to the American Meteor Society. Don’t expect to see those numbers anywhere close this year because of light pollution.
Cloud cover in Georgia may also limit any view of the Perseids.
