Is there any better way to end a summer’s day than to sit for few minutes and watch a beautiful full moon appear above the horizon in the east?
Most of us have witnessed this monthly event at one time or another, but usually only by accident. However, it's predictable down to the second and hugely worth planning a special trip to see.
As our satellite appears on the horizon, it’s a pale orange color–for the same reasons that a setting Sun is orange–and it soon turns a pale yellow before, eventually, it rises higher in the sky and becomes that bright white-ish orb we’re all familiar with. What makes “full moon day” different to any other moonrise is that as well as being 100 percent illuminated, the moon's setting and rising come during twilight, just before or after the Sun sets. What is the 'Sturgeon Moon?'
August 15 sees the rise of what North Americans popularly call the Sturgeon Moon, so named because August is the month that Native Americans deemed best for catching a large lake fish that used to be common (they’re now super-rare). For the most part, full moon names are meaningless to modern people, especially those with “locally sourced” names like Sturgeon Moon. In my opinion, it’s a bad moon name with no resonance. August’s full moon has also been called the Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon, though none of them seem particularly relevant.
Why is it called the Full Sturgeon Moon?
It’s a name derived from a Native American tribe that used to track the seasons using the Moon. At this time of year the sturgeon fish, North America's largest lake fish, used to be caught in the Great Lakes, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac (it’s now critically endangered). The Full Green Corn Moon, Full Barley Moon, Wheat Cut Moon, Blueberry Moon, and Blackberry Moon are other names that have been given to August’s full moon by various tribes, again to indicate the harvest time for those crops. There are two chances to see the full moon at its most illuminated this month. Here are times for 10 cities around the world.
London: 5:17 a.m. and 8:47 p.m.
New York: 5:57 a.m and 8:21 p.m.
Paris: 6:16 a.m. and 9:28 p.m.
Singapore: 6:45 a.m. and 7:12 p.m.
Tokyo: 4:20 a.m. and 6:36 p.m.
Hong Kong: 5:31 a.m. and 6:58 p.m.
Dubai: 5:30 a.m. and 7:04 p.m.
Beijing: 4:47 a.m. and 7:20 p.m.
Sydney: 6:26 a.m. and 5:05 p.m.
Los Angeles: 6:15 a.m and 8:10 p.m.
Although these times are the best for watching the August’s full moon closest to its 100% illumination–and closest to sunrise and sunset–you could also try to catch a moonset or moonrise on Monday and Wednesday. It will be almost as impressive, something that's not down to the percentage illumination, but the clarity of the sky and the timing during twilight. Put simply, a moonrise in pitch black isn't as interesting.
How to see Earth's shadow and the full moon
However, watching a moonset or moonrise isn’t the only incredible thing you can see during twilight. You can also see Earth’s shadow, and a beautiful, fleeting and very colorful consequence of it. When you're out full moon-gazing, look out for a very distinctive pinkish hue in the sky close to the horizon. Caused by the shadow that Earth casts on the atmosphere opposite the sunset, this atmospheric phenomenon is called the Belt of Venus. It’s actually the light of the sunset being reflected off the atmosphere. You’ll see in in the west just before sunrise and in the east just after sunset. Soon after, it will get swallowed up as Earth's dark blue shadow rises upwards as the Sun gets lower beneath the horizon.
The Anishnaabe (Chippewa and Ojibwe) call it miini-giizis, the berry moon, while the Assiniboine of the northern plains named it capasapsaba, black cherries moon. The Lakota call it wasutoa wi, moon of the ripening, while the Sioux dubbed it cherries turn black.
Likewise the Tlingit have dubbed their August full moon sha-ha-yi, or berries ripe on mountain. Also in the fruit realm are the Wishram of the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon, who called it blackberry patches moon, and the Shawnee, with po'kamawi kiishthwa, or plum moon.
August Full Moon Names From Native American and Other Different Cultures Joyful Moon (Hopi). First Acorns (Pomo). Ripen moon (Dakota). Dispute Moon (Celtic). Cutter Moon (Abernaki). Dog Days moon (Yuchi). Corn Silk Moon (Ponca). Harvest Moon (Chinese). Berry Moon (Anishnaabe). Women's Moon (Choctaw). Mulberries Moon (Natchez). Middle moon (Potawatomi). Freshness Moon (Mohawk). Yelow flower moon (Osage). Blackberry Moon (Wishram). Acorns Ripen Moon (Maidu). Wheat Cut Moon (San Juan). Lightning Moon (Neo Pagan). Black Cherries Moon (Sioux). Yellow Leaves moon (Kiowa).
Edible Corn Moon (Algonquin). Young Ducks Fly Moon (Cree). Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine). Dog Day's Moon (Colonial American). Autumn Moon (Taos Native American). Corn Moon, Wort Moon (Medieval English). Geese Shedding Feathers Moon (Arapaho). Feather Shedding Moon (Passamaquoddy). Dispute Moon (Full Janic), Harvest Moon (Dark Janic). Big Harvest moon, Heat Moon, Big Rippening Moon (Creek). Fruit Moon, Drying Moon, Last Fruit Moon, Grain Moon (Cherokee). Red Moon,Sturgeon Moon, Green Corn Moon, Dog Days Moon (Algonquin).
Most of us have witnessed this monthly event at one time or another, but usually only by accident. However, it's predictable down to the second and hugely worth planning a special trip to see.
As our satellite appears on the horizon, it’s a pale orange color–for the same reasons that a setting Sun is orange–and it soon turns a pale yellow before, eventually, it rises higher in the sky and becomes that bright white-ish orb we’re all familiar with. What makes “full moon day” different to any other moonrise is that as well as being 100 percent illuminated, the moon's setting and rising come during twilight, just before or after the Sun sets. What is the 'Sturgeon Moon?'
August 15 sees the rise of what North Americans popularly call the Sturgeon Moon, so named because August is the month that Native Americans deemed best for catching a large lake fish that used to be common (they’re now super-rare). For the most part, full moon names are meaningless to modern people, especially those with “locally sourced” names like Sturgeon Moon. In my opinion, it’s a bad moon name with no resonance. August’s full moon has also been called the Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, and Barley Moon, though none of them seem particularly relevant.
Why is it called the Full Sturgeon Moon?
It’s a name derived from a Native American tribe that used to track the seasons using the Moon. At this time of year the sturgeon fish, North America's largest lake fish, used to be caught in the Great Lakes, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac (it’s now critically endangered). The Full Green Corn Moon, Full Barley Moon, Wheat Cut Moon, Blueberry Moon, and Blackberry Moon are other names that have been given to August’s full moon by various tribes, again to indicate the harvest time for those crops. There are two chances to see the full moon at its most illuminated this month. Here are times for 10 cities around the world.
London: 5:17 a.m. and 8:47 p.m.
New York: 5:57 a.m and 8:21 p.m.
Paris: 6:16 a.m. and 9:28 p.m.
Singapore: 6:45 a.m. and 7:12 p.m.
Tokyo: 4:20 a.m. and 6:36 p.m.
Hong Kong: 5:31 a.m. and 6:58 p.m.
Dubai: 5:30 a.m. and 7:04 p.m.
Beijing: 4:47 a.m. and 7:20 p.m.
Sydney: 6:26 a.m. and 5:05 p.m.
Los Angeles: 6:15 a.m and 8:10 p.m.
Although these times are the best for watching the August’s full moon closest to its 100% illumination–and closest to sunrise and sunset–you could also try to catch a moonset or moonrise on Monday and Wednesday. It will be almost as impressive, something that's not down to the percentage illumination, but the clarity of the sky and the timing during twilight. Put simply, a moonrise in pitch black isn't as interesting.
How to see Earth's shadow and the full moon
However, watching a moonset or moonrise isn’t the only incredible thing you can see during twilight. You can also see Earth’s shadow, and a beautiful, fleeting and very colorful consequence of it. When you're out full moon-gazing, look out for a very distinctive pinkish hue in the sky close to the horizon. Caused by the shadow that Earth casts on the atmosphere opposite the sunset, this atmospheric phenomenon is called the Belt of Venus. It’s actually the light of the sunset being reflected off the atmosphere. You’ll see in in the west just before sunrise and in the east just after sunset. Soon after, it will get swallowed up as Earth's dark blue shadow rises upwards as the Sun gets lower beneath the horizon.
The Anishnaabe (Chippewa and Ojibwe) call it miini-giizis, the berry moon, while the Assiniboine of the northern plains named it capasapsaba, black cherries moon. The Lakota call it wasutoa wi, moon of the ripening, while the Sioux dubbed it cherries turn black.
Likewise the Tlingit have dubbed their August full moon sha-ha-yi, or berries ripe on mountain. Also in the fruit realm are the Wishram of the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon, who called it blackberry patches moon, and the Shawnee, with po'kamawi kiishthwa, or plum moon.
August Full Moon Names From Native American and Other Different Cultures Joyful Moon (Hopi). First Acorns (Pomo). Ripen moon (Dakota). Dispute Moon (Celtic). Cutter Moon (Abernaki). Dog Days moon (Yuchi). Corn Silk Moon (Ponca). Harvest Moon (Chinese). Berry Moon (Anishnaabe). Women's Moon (Choctaw). Mulberries Moon (Natchez). Middle moon (Potawatomi). Freshness Moon (Mohawk). Yelow flower moon (Osage). Blackberry Moon (Wishram). Acorns Ripen Moon (Maidu). Wheat Cut Moon (San Juan). Lightning Moon (Neo Pagan). Black Cherries Moon (Sioux). Yellow Leaves moon (Kiowa).
Edible Corn Moon (Algonquin). Young Ducks Fly Moon (Cree). Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine). Dog Day's Moon (Colonial American). Autumn Moon (Taos Native American). Corn Moon, Wort Moon (Medieval English). Geese Shedding Feathers Moon (Arapaho). Feather Shedding Moon (Passamaquoddy). Dispute Moon (Full Janic), Harvest Moon (Dark Janic). Big Harvest moon, Heat Moon, Big Rippening Moon (Creek). Fruit Moon, Drying Moon, Last Fruit Moon, Grain Moon (Cherokee). Red Moon,Sturgeon Moon, Green Corn Moon, Dog Days Moon (Algonquin).
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