Home > Ephemeris Program, Observing, The Moon > Ephemeris: 07/31/2023 – August’s Blue Moon

Ephemeris: 07/31/2023 – August’s Blue Moon

July 31, 2023

This is Ephemeris for Monday, July 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 9:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:28. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 5:45 tomorrow morning.

In August, we are going to have two full moons this year and by most modern reckoning the second full moon is called a Blue Moon, even though that’s not the color of the Moon, which looks like normal although both of these moons in August will be supermoons, so they’ll be a little bit larger than average. However, there is nothing to compare them to, so there’s no way of determining this visually for yourself. The older definition of blue moon is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. Being a purist, I prefer the latter definition, but I seem to be in a minority. The months of our calendar are a result of Roman politics and superstition, an arbitrary construct. So are time zones by modern politicians. Some time zones could have a blue moon, and some not.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT –4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The Full Blue Moon of August 30, 2023, 9:35 pm EDT (01:35 UT August 31). Created using Stellarium, and GIMP for extra contrast.

Categories: Ephemeris Program, Observing, The Moon Tags: ,