Once in a blue moon: How to see the two supermoons in August

The skies will offer up a double feature in August, a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon.

There are roughly 29 and a half days between each full moon, and that means if a full moon falls in the first day or two of a month then there’s likely to be another before the month ends.

If there are two full moons in a month, the second is known as a “blue moon” and is where the expression “once in a blue moon” comes from.

This means there are two full moons in a month, which is quite rare, with the second one being called a ‘blue moon’ – this is where the term ‘once in a blue moon’ comes from.

This August is one such month, with a full moon occurring on the Tuesday, August 1, and another following 30 days later on August 31.

Not only that, but these full moons will be known as super moons, which just means tahey appear larger as the moon is a little closer to earth than normal.

On Tuesday night’s full moon, our closest rocky neighbour will be 222,000 miles away from earth, compared to the average of 283,000 miles.

The full moon on August 31, the blue supermoon, will be 221,000 miles away.

The weather for Tuesday’s full moon is looking favourable for the north Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire with the best cloud breaks.

Cloudier skies can be expected further south and west for the likes of Argyll and Bute and Ayrshire.

When the moon goes further away from us than normal and is full, this is known as a micro full moon, which will next occur in February 2024.

The next time two full moons will occur in the same month is in May 2026.