Did you catch the full supermoon on August 1, 2023? If you didn’t see it, don’t worry, you have two more chances coming up! At the end of August we will have another full supermoon (which is also a blue supermoon). And September will have a supermoon, too. For now, though, enjoy the video above, or, if you prefer, these terrific pictures of the August 1 supermoon from the EarthSky community. Thanks to all who submitted!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Kamala Venkatesh of San Diego, California, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Kamala wrote: “Normally, I like to capture my full moon in a rural setting. But given that the moon rose much later than sunset, I preferred to shoot it against our beautiful skyline. I had researched the location using the app PhotoPills, and it surely rose where the app had predicted. If you didn’t see the Sturgeon supermoon, there’s one coming up at the end of August.” Thank you, Kamala!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy of Lincoln City, Oregon, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Cecille wrote: “The 1st full supermoon in August casting moonlight on the lake. The moon rays are visible on the hilltops and there is a vertical ray faintly visible also. The night is quiet except for the geese cackling now and then; there is hardly any wind. What a beautiful night!” Thank you, Cecille!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mickey Walters of Jamestown, Rhode Island, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Mickey wrote: “Sturgeon Full Moon from Narragansett Bay, overlooking Newport, Rhode Island.” Thank you, Mickey!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chix RC of San Pedro, California, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Chix wrote: “Sturgeon Moon rising … the 1st supermoon this month.” Thank you, Chix!
More full moon photos
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s own Raúl Cortés of Monterrey, Mexico, captured this image of the full supermoon on August 1, 2023. Thank you, Raúl!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mohammad Adeel of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Mohammad wrote: “First supermoon of August rising over the western horizon through haze and a thin layer of clouds, appearing as bands over the lunar surface. Supermoon is the term given to a full moon that is a bit closer to Earth than its usual distance. It appears a bit bigger and brighter in the sky (14% larger and 30% brighter than usual). This month has another rare supermoon on August 30, which will be a ‘Blue Moon’. It has nothing to do with the color blue.” Thank you, Mohammad!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Osama Fathi of Cairo, Egypt, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Osama wrote: “Super full moons can appear 7 to 14% larger than regular full moons. They’re particularly stunning when close to the horizon above the Nile.” They certainly are stunning. Thank you, Osama!
Bright full supermoon on August 1
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cathy Adams of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Cathy wrote: “Tonight’s full moon. I was going to take my scope out … but little Stinky the skunk was only a few feet away, and I decided we were doing just fine as we were.” Thank you, Cathy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Bill Hood of Gardena, California, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Bill wrote: “For processing, I used Photoshop with a heavy hand on the clarity slider to create the contrast seen in the image. I combined 5 consecutive images (top 4 layers set to 20% opacity) to smooth out the random pixel noise caused by the clarity slider.” Thank you, Bill!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Tameem wrote: “I photographed the moon before the sky got full of clouds … the moon is in perihelion, at a distance of 357,550 km (222,171 mi).” Thank you, Tameem!
Full moon brightness
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, made this composite image and wrote: “I photographed the moon today, August 1, 2023, in perihelion, at a distance of 357,550 km. And I photographed the moon on February 5, 2023, when it was at aphelion 401,751 km. I took them with the same telescope and camera, showing the difference between them.” Thank you, Tameem!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Chantal Torchia of Old Bridge, New Jersey, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Chantal wrote: “The gorgeous Full Sturgeon Moon … also a supermoon. Couldn’t look away!” Thank you, Chantal!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Lorraine Boyd of Delmar, New York, captured this image on August 1, 2023. Lorraine wrote: “The Full Sturgeon Moon, also the first of 2 supermoons in August 2023. The official term for a supermoon is a ‘perigean full moon’. It was such a beautiful, finally very cool, clear night.” Thank you, Lorraine!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Villiam Hansen in Bornholm, Denmark wrote of the August 1, 2023, full supermoon: “Went close to our highest tower (Bornholmertårnet) on the island and hoped the clouds were gentle. This is the result.” Thank you, Villam!
Bottom line: Enjoy these great photos of the August supermoon. It’s the 2nd of four supermoons in a row. August will have one more supermoon and September will have one.
Marcy Curran has enjoyed star gazing since she was a young girl going on family camping trips under the dark skies of Wyoming. She bought her first telescope in time to see Halley’s Comet in 1985. Her passion for astronomy eventually led her to being a co-founder of a local astronomical society. Marcy remains active in her astronomy club, including serving as the editor of a monthly newsletter. She also contributes a monthly article to her local newspaper focusing on the stars, planets and objects currently visible in the night sky. Marcy taught astronomy at her local community college for over 20 years.
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