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.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
The U.S. stands on the verge of adding a second vaccine to its arsenal as the coronavirus outbreak descends deeper into its most lethal phase yet.
The legislative branch of government is rapidly moving to receive the coronavirus vaccine, with both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell getting the shot on Friday.
Florida is now using trained dogs to sniff out troublesome pythons. Truman is a python-hunting black Labrador retriever that recently tracked down his first snake as part of a new Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission program.
As the second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the U.S., frontline doctors are reliving the worst of the pandemic. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo finds out how doctors are coping.
The Trump administration has relaxed a regulation restricting water flow from showerheads — something that was a pet peeve of President Trump, who complained that he wanted more water to make his hair “perfect.”
Dr. Ashwini Zenooz, chief medical officer at Salesforce, discusses teaming up with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to help distribute COVID vaccines equitably throughout the world.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told Cheddar Tuesday that recent vaccine developments have made him "incredibly optimistic" that the end of the pandemic is in sight.
CEO Isaac Larian joined Cheddar to discuss MGA Entertainment's push for recyclable toy products and packaging.
Thousands of people gathered in the Chilean region of La Araucanía on Monday to witness a solar eclipse, rejoicing in the rare experience even though visibility was limited because of cloudy skies.
