"Blue Supermoon" Rising This Week Will Be The Biggest and Brightest of 2023

Prelude To The Supermoon

Photo: Mimi Ditchie Photography / Moment / Getty Images

Indeed, at 12 noon ET on that fifth Wednesday of August, the moon will arrive at perigee, its closest point in its orbit relative to Earth at 221,942 miles (357,181 km) away. 9 hours and 36 minutes later, the the Earth-based longitude shows the moon in perfect opposition to the Sun, it will light up the night at 9:36 PM EDT. 

This moon is notable for a few reasons: For one, not only is it a full moon, but it's also a Blue Moon, which means it's the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, according to NASA. A more popular definition is that a Blue Moon refers to the second full moon within a single calendar month, which is the case with this moon.


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