By Marcia Dunn
Stargazers are in for a double treat on Aug. 30: a rare blue supermoon with Saturn peeking from behind.
The cosmic curtain rises Wednesday night with the second full moon of the month, the reason it’s considered blue. It’s dubbed a supermoon because it’s closer to Earth than usual, appearing especially big and bright.
This will be the closest full moon of the year, just 222,043 miles (357,344 kilometers) or so away. That’s more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) closer than the Aug. 1 supermoon.
As a bonus, Saturn will be visible as a bright point 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon at sunset in the east-southeastern sky, according to NASA. The ringed planet will appear to circle clockwise around the moon as the night wears on.
If you missed the month’s first spectacle, better catch this one. There won’t be another blue supermoon until 2037, according to Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi, founder of the Virtual Telescope Project.
Clouds spoiled Masi's attempt to livestream the supermoon rising earlier this month. He’s hoping for clearer skies this time so he can capture the blue supermoon shining above St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.
Weather permitting, observers don’t need binoculars or telescopes — “just their own eyes." said Masi.
“I’m always excited to admire the beauty of the night sky,” he said, especially when it features a blue supermoon.
The first supermoon of 2023 was in July. The fourth and last will be in September.
The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding.
If you're flying on a plane or taking a train, be ready to keep wearing that face mask for a few more months. The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday it will extend the face-mask rule on public transportation.
U.S. health officials have announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines’ effectiveness is falling.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19.
New Zealand’s government has taken drastic action by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community.
Friday's announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the global average temperature of nearly 62.1 degrees in July edged records set in 2016.
Collapse of Afghanistan, Future of Fast Food & Britney Gets a Win
Scientists have fine-tuned the path of the asteroid Bennu and say the odds of it smacking into Earth are higher than previously thought but still quite low.
Northrop Grumman is making another supply run to the International Space Station. The speedy, special delivery includes pizza for the seven residents on board.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging all pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
