(RNN) – Before it stars in the much-anticipated solar eclipse on Aug. 21, the moon will be at full phase two weeks earlier.
On Aug. 7, the Full Sturgeon Moon will appear. Astute sky watchers in Africa, Asia and Australia will even be able to see a partial lunar eclipse, space.com says.
But back in these parts it’s called the Full Sturgeon Moon because August is when, the Farmer’s Almanac says, the sturgeon fish was most easily caught in the Great Lakes. Native American tribes also called it the “Full Green Corn Moon,” Wheat Cut Moon,” and “Blueberry Moon.”
A full moon takes place monthly when the sun, Earth and moon line up with the Earth being positioned between the two. The side of the moon that faces the Earth is completely lit by the sun.
The moon orbits the Earth every 29 and a half days. A full moon rises just as the sun sets, mreclipse.com says, and sets just as the sun rises.
Between two and four lunar eclipses take place yearly. Lunar eclipses occur when the moon passes through some portion of the Earth's shadow. Lunar and solar eclipses take place in tandem. Lunar eclipses fall within two weeks of a solar eclipse, the website space.com says.
The Sturgeon Moon will be full on Aug. 7 on its way to eclipsing the sun on Aug. 21 for the thousands who will watching in the U.S. The graphic below shows where the eclipse will be most visible in the eastern U.S. Nashville, TN, Charleston, SC, and Columbia, SC, are in the direct path.
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