Not that any of us have been going to bed early lately, but tonight there is a special reason not to go to sleep, and more than that – not to sit at home, but to go outside and stare at the sky. The reason: Inside the night sky there will be a large and quite colorful moon waiting for you. We used ChatGPT to tell us a bit about the phenomenon worth watching – a blue supermoon.
"Blue moon" is a term that traditionally refers to the second full moon in a calendar month (in the past there could be no such thing, since the months are determined by the new moon, so it will always be full on the night of 29/5), a phenomenon that occurs once every two or three years. Since the smell orbits the Earth every 1.<> days, and the last full moon was on August <>, the last night of the month will receive another full moon. However, the blue moon is not unique in appearance – nor is it ever blue. This is believed to be the name chosen either because of an ancient phenomenon in which the moon appears blue after volcanic eruptions, or because of a misunderstanding of a phrase that means "an event that can never happen."
What is unique about our celestial landscape tonight is the "supermoon" – a phenomenon that occurs when the full moon approaches its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit, and as a result appears larger and brighter than normal. This phenomenon is not too rare either – it already occurred at the beginning of the year, and will occur again on September 18, 2024. However, this is enough to make it an unusual event that is fun to watch. The distance between the Moon and Earth tonight will be one of the smallest ever at just 357,344 kilometers. On the other hand, this is a tiny difference of 186 km from the last time this year when a "supermoon" was seen, so it is unlikely that the difference will be noticeable.
As mentioned, the nickname "Blue Supermoon" does not mean that the moon will turn blue tonight. On the contrary: its color will actually look closer to orange.
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