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.
Dr. Paul Stoffels, Chief Scientific Officer at Johnson & Johnson, told Cheddar on Tuesday that he’s confident the company will have a vaccine ready for testing within the next few months.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Americans to brace for a “rough two-week period” ahead as the White House released new projections that there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained.
Parsing the data from around the world is showing a stark difference in how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting mortality and socioeconomic suffering along gender lines.
A city of about 150,000 just in northern Los Angeles County is preparing for the spread of the novel coronavirus by teaming up with the local aerospace companies to create ventilator substitutes and preparing an ordinance that would require wearing masks, according to Mayor R. Rex Parris.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he hopes the new Health Corps will increase the number of healthcare workers by thousands as the state prepares for an overwhelmed healthcare system.
California Rep. Ami Bera wants to see more federal control over things like purchasing and stockpiling medical supplies to meet the needs of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stocks are pushing higher on Wall Street, led by big gains for health care companies announcing developments that could aid in the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Christopher Wiles, a resident physician at the University of Connecticut, is turning his hobby into a potential way to offset a shortage of personal protective equipment in hospitals dealing with COVID-19.
Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan sounded alarm as her state recorded the fourth highest number of coronavirus cases in the country.
Mike Leavitt, the former HHS Secretary under President George W. Bush, gave a word of support to the current health secretary regarding his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
