Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 September 5 [2]A large Moon is seen behind a historic stone structure. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Blue Supermoon Beyond Syracuse Credit & Copyright: [3]Kevin Saragozza Explanation: The last full moon was doubly unusual. First of all, it was a [4]blue moon. A modern definition of a [5]blue moon is a second full moon to occur during one [6]calendar month. Since there are 13 full moons in 2023, one month has to have two -- and that month was August. The first full moon was on August 1 and named a [7]Sturgeon Moon. The second reason that the last full moon was [8]unusual was because it was a [9]supermoon. A modern definition of [10]supermoon is a moon that reaches its full [11]phase when it is relatively close to Earth -- and so [12]appears a bit larger and brighter than average. Pictured, the [13]blue supermoon of 2023 was imaged [14]hovering far behind a historic [15]castle and [16]lighthouse in [17]Syracuse, [18]Sicily, [19]Italy. Gallery: [20]Selected August 2023 supermoon images submitted to APOD Tomorrow's picture: sky in motion __________________________________________________________________ [21]< | [22]Archive | [23]Submissions | [24]Index | [25]Search | [26]Calendar | [27]RSS | [28]Education | [29]About APOD | [30]Discuss | [31]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [32]Robert Nemiroff ([33]MTU) & [34]Jerry Bonnell ([35]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [36]Specific rights apply. [37]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [38]ASD at [39]NASA / [40]GSFC, [41]NASA Science Activation & [42]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/SuperBlueMoon_Saragozza_2000.jpg 3. https://www.facebook.com/kevinsaragozza/ 4. https://moon.nasa.gov/news/197/super-blue-moons-your-questions-answered/ 5. https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/astronomy/item/what-is-a-blue-moon-is-it-ever-really-blue/ 6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar 7. https://www.fullmoonology.com/full-moon-calendar-2023/ 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220704.html 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon 10. https://moon.nasa.gov/news/197/super-blue-moons-your-questions-answered/ 11. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/676/phases-of-the-moon/ 12. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5048 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230830.html 14. https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/002/232/bullet_cat.jpg 15. https://youtu.be/l11c8SqqTOM 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_Maniace 17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Province_of_Syracuse 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy 20. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.287557693972815&type=3 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230904.html 22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 30. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230905 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230906.html 32. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 33. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 34. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 35. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 36. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 37. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 38. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 39. https://www.nasa.gov/ 40. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 41. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 42. http://www.mtu.edu/