If you’re still awestruck by early August’s eye-popping supermoon, there’s more awe on the horizon. On the night of Aug. 30, skywatchers can admire not just the month’s second full moon — known as a rare blue moon — but a super blue moon.
It’s also the brightest and largest full moon of the year, and the closest full supermoon we’ll have until November 2025, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. If that’s not enough to convince you, we won’t see another super blue moon until 2037, according to NASA.
How to See the Super Blue Moon
August’s moons are making all sorts of headlines. Not only did we enjoy a supermoon earlier this month; this second lunar event, the super blue moon, will dazzle with its size and brightness.
To see it, look to the eastern sky after sunset on Aug. 30, according to EarthSky. It will hit its greatest illumination just after 9:30 p.m. EDT, per USA Today. At this point, the moon will be 222,043 miles away from Earth — tens of thousands of miles closer than its average distance of 240,000 miles, according to EarthSky. You can see it again the morning of Aug. 31 in the western sky, just before the sun rises.
What Else to Know About the Blue Moon
The name may be deceiving, but a blue moon isn’t actually blue. According to NBC, the idea of a blue moon stems from the 16th century; the term was used to describe something impossible. It went through many iterations after that, but the phrase eventually made its way into the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, where the name for a month’s second full moon became solidified.
In addition to being a blue moon, the Aug. 30 sight will be a super moon — a name reserved for a moon that’s close to Earth and appears around 16 percent brighter than average, per EarthSky.
Just how rare is the super blue moon? According to NASA, we see blue moons every 2.5 years, and super blue moons about every 10, or up to 20, years. The next super blue moon won’t grace our skies until 2037.
