{"id":18533,"date":"2023-08-08T13:06:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T17:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=18533"},"modified":"2023-08-08T13:06:24","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T17:06:24","slug":"perseid-meteor-shower-and-blue-moon-highlight-busy-august-in-the-heavens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/08\/perseid-meteor-shower-and-blue-moon-highlight-busy-august-in-the-heavens","title":{"rendered":"Perseid Meteor Shower and Blue Moon Highlight Busy August in the Heavens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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With two full moons and the year\u2019s best meteor shower, August will be a busy month in the heavens. We may lose sight of two planets, but two more will swing into view. The month\u2019s first full moon happened on August 1, known as the Sturgeon Moon in North America because the continent\u2019s largest freshwater fish start their spawning season. Other names include the Corn Moon and Grain Moon.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s a bonus moon this month. The second full moon will happen on August 30 and is one of two \u201cblue moons.\u201d This term applies to either the second full moon in a calendar month or the third full moon in an astronomical season with four full moons. The second type will happen on August 19 in 2024. Both of August\u2019s full moons also happen to occur close to the times of the moon\u2019s closest pass to Earth in orbit, known as perigee.<\/p>\n

Some call perigee moons \u201csupermoons,\u201d which appear about eight percent bigger and 16 percent brighter than the average moon. August 1 was a special day in pre-Christian Gaelic culture, one of the four \u201ccross-quarter\u201d days commemorating the midpoints of the astronomical seasons. Lughnasadh was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man as the first of three harvest festivals. When Christianity arrived in the region, the day became the feast day of St. Peter in Chains.<\/p>\n

It subsequently evolved into \u201cLammas\u201d or \u201cLoaf Mass.\u201d On this day, it is traditional to bring the first loaf of bread made from the season\u2019s first crop to the church for all to share. Unlike the other cross-quarter days we know as Groundhog Day, May Day and Halloween, Lammas isn\u2019t widely observed in the United States. However, it is still prevalent in Britain and marks the \u201ctraditional\u201d start of summer holidays in many parts of Europe.<\/p>\n