December's full moon has a clear and simple name. In most of the northern hemisphere, December heralds the start of the real winter weather. Frost, ice and snow cover the ground in many places, glowing under the light of the "Cold Moon". Often, the Cold Moon is also the "Mourning Moon". In Celtic... read more Show
New moon happens when the moon (in its monthly orbit of Earth) goes more or less between the sun and Earth. Full moon happens when the moon (in its monthly orbit) is on the opposite side of Earth from the sun. Perigee – from the root words peri meaning near and geo meaning Earth – is the moon’s closest point to Earth in a month. So the new or full moon closely coincides with perigee several times each year. When that happens, in the language of popular culture, we have a supermoon. As it’s used today, the word supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. And according to Nolle’s definition, a full moon or new moon is a supermoon when it’s also within 90% of its closest point to Earth. However, different websites calculate supermoons differently. EarthSky uses supermoon dates as determined by astronomer Fred Espenak. He’s best known for his time at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where he became a world expert on eclipse predictions. Additionally, his method of calculating supermoons takes into account changes in the moon’s orbit during each lunar cycle. Available now! 2023 EarthSky lunar calendar. A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar showing phases of the moon every night of the year! And it makes a great gift. Full supermoons in 2023Fred Espenak’s full supermoon table gives us these values – dates and moon distances – for full supermoons in 2023. Contrast these moon distances to the average moon distance of 238,900 miles (384,472 km).
The supermoon of August 31, 2023, will be the closest full supermoon for 2023 and it’s also a monthly Blue Moon. That is because it’s the second full moon in a calendar month. By the way, the next monthly Blue Moon is not until May 31, 2026. New supermoons in 2023Fred Espenak’s new supermoon table gives us these values – dates and moon distances – for new supermoons in 2023. Contrast these moon distances to the average moon distance of 238,900 miles (384,472 km).
The supermoon of January 21, 2023, will be the closest new supermoon for 2023. Read more: The 1st of 5 new supermoons in a row  Supermoon hype?Some astronomers complain about the name supermoon. They like to call supermoons hype. But supermoons aren’t hype. They’re special. Many people now know and use the word supermoon. In fact, we even notice some diehards are starting to use it now. Such is the power of folklore. The hype aspect of supermoons probably stemmed from an erroneous impression people had when the word supermoon came into popular usage … maybe a few decades ago? Some people mistakenly believed a full supermoon would look much, much bigger to the eye. But it doesn’t. Nowadays, most people seem to realize that supermoons don’t look bigger to the eye than ordinary full moons. While it’s true experienced observers do say they can detect a difference. But you’d have to be a very keen observer to notice it. Truly, most of us can’t tell any difference in the size of a supermoon and an ordinary full moon. Is a supermoon brighter?But … do supermoons do look brighter than ordinary full moons? Yes! By a noticeable amount. That’s because a supermoon exceeds the disk size and brightness of an average-sized full moon by some 15%. As a matter of fact, it exceeds the disk size and brightness of a micro-moon (year’s smallest full moon) by some 30%. So go outside on the night of a full supermoon. Even if you’re a casual observer of the moon, there’s the potential you’ll notice the supermoon is exceptionally bright! For a visual reference, the size difference between a supermoon and micro-moon is proportionally similar to that of a U.S. quarter versus a U.S. nickel. Again, that difference isn’t noticeable to the eye at the moon’s distance. But the brightness difference is noticeable. By the way, before we called them supermoons, we in astronomy called these moons perigean full moons, or perigean new moons. No doubt about it. Supermoon is catchier. High tides from new and full supermoonsWhat’s more, all supermoons have the potential to cause higher-than-usual tides. High tides during the full or new moon are called spring tides. High tides during a full or new moon at perigee are called perigean spring tides, or, sometimes, king tides. And nowadays you sometimes hear them called supermoon tides. These perigean or king or supermoon spring tides tend to follow the date of new or full moon by a day or so. These especially high tides are highly dependent on the shapes of local coastlines and on local weather conditions. Do extra-high supermoon tides cause flooding? Maybe yes and maybe no. Flooding typically occurs when a strong weather system accompanies an especially high spring tide. How often do we have a supermoon?Often! But it also depends on your definition of supermoon. Here’s a list of each year’s closest full supermoon perigees from 2015 to 2025 (from Espenak’s full supermoon table):
The recurring cycle of supermoonsThe full moon supermoon series of 2023 will recur after 14 lunar months (14 returns to full moon). That’s because 14 returns to full moon almost exactly equal 15 returns to perigee, a period of about one year, one month, and 18 days. The mean lunar month (full moon to full moon, or new moon to new moon) = 29.53059 days, whereas the mean anomalistic month (perigee to perigee, or apogee to apogee) = 27.55455 days. Hence:
So given that supermoons recur in cycles of 413 days (about one year, one month and 18 days), we can expect the full moon supermoons to come about one month and 18 days later next year, in 2024. Bottom line: For 2023, the full moons of July, two in August and September are supermoons. New moon supermoons of 2023 will be the new moons of January, February, and March. The supermoon of August 31, 2023, is the closest and brightest full supermoon of the year. 34Twitter1.9kFacebook10Pinterest4BufferShare 1.9k SHARES Posted January 4, 2023 in Astronomy EssentialsDeborah ByrdView ArticlesAbout the Author: Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says. EarthSky VoicesView ArticlesAbout the Author: Members of the EarthSky community - including scientists, as well as science and nature writers from across the globe - weigh in on what's important to them. What are full moon dates 2022?When is the full moon? Calendar dates for 2022. What day is the full moon in August 2022?As mentioned above, the next full moon will be Thursday night, Aug. 11, 2022, at 9:36 p.m. EDT.
Is the next full moon in New Zealand?The moon is currently 18.3 days old. It is 405406 km (251908 miles) from the Earth. Next full moon is on 8 Dec 2022. The next new moon is on 23 Dec 2022.
What is tonight's moon called?Waxing Crescent
Today's moon is 24.68% visible and is crescent. 2 days left to the next phase 1st Quarter.
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When is the full moon this month
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