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August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles

August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles
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People gather to watch the supermoon, known as the blue moon and ‘sturgeon moon,’ in White Sand National Park near Alamogordo, New Mexico, US on Aug. 19, 2024. (Reuters)
August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles
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A supermoon is seen from Kongekajen in Copenhagen on Aug. 19, 2024. (Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles
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A supermoon, known as the Blue Moon, rises next to the Santuario de la Virgen de los Remedios church in San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, Mexico on Aug. 19, 2024. (Reuters)
August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles
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People walk in front of a rising supermoon at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on Aug. 19, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 20 August 2024

August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles

August’s supermoon is the first of four lunar spectacles
  • September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: Monday’s supermoon is the first of four this year.
During a supermoon, the full moon inches a little closer than usual to Earth. A supermoon isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way in the night sky, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.
September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year.
More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.