What is 'super blue moon' and where to see it?

There are two kinds of blue moons, the monthly and the seasonal. The monthly, even though it is a rarity, occurs when there are two supermoons or full moons in a single month. 

You may ask why it is a rare thing. Because the moon’s cycle is just 29.5 days and one month on Earth lasts 30-31 days.

Nasa confirms that two supermoons can be witnessed in a month as it happens every two to three years.

The first type can be described when there are two full moons in a single month.

A full moon recurring in the same month is a rare event as it happens once every two or three years, according to Nasa. The second full moon in a month is called the "Blue Moon".

Meanwhile, the second type is the seasonal Blue Moon, in which a calendar season contains four full moons instead of the usual three. The third of the four full moons is called the Blue Moon.

Widely discussed tonight's Blue Moon belongs to this category of phenomena as the next full moon will be the fourth of the season.

Besides all this, tonight's full moon will be a "super blue moon" because the celestial body will be the closest point in its orbit around Earth.

However, not every Blue Moon has to be a supermoon as about 25% of all full moons are supermoons, but only 3% of full moons are blue moons.

Nasa describes the supermoon as when a full moon appears within 90% of its closest approach to Earth in its orbit, or its perigee.

At its closest point, the full moon can appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the faintest Moon of the year, which occurs when it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit.

The next blue moon is expected to be witnessed in May 2027.

Where can the super blue moon be sighted? 

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco) confirmed that Pakistani stargazers will observe the super blue moon today from 11:26pm.

As for the rest of the world, the phenomena will be visible for three straight days in Australia from Sunday morning to early Wednesday morning, according to Nasa.

The Australians should get ready to see the super blue moon in its full glory on early Monday evening.

If someone misses the moon on Monday evening, the Sydney Observatory suggests that the moon will be illustrious on Tuesday night because it will still be closer than it usually is.

Aside from Australia, the super blue moon will also grace North America at 2:26pm EDT on August 19 and will appear full for approximately three days, as per Nasa.

The super blue moon can also be observed by Pakistan’s neighbouring country India from tonight to the early morning of August 20.

The visibility of the super blue moon had begun in European and African countries from the evening of August 18 through the early morning hours of August 20.