August New Moon and Full Moon - Full Sturgeon Moon

Another Moon Report from my friend, Marney Bruce. Thanks, Marney!

Hi Everyone – time for the August New Moon! I sure hope we will still be enjoying clear skies by Thursday because we will be in for quite a show, if so. I can’t say it better than NASA.

“The show begins at sundown {on Thursday} when Venus, Saturn, Mars and the crescent Moon pop out of the western twilight in tight conjunction. All four heavenly objects will fit within a circle about 10 degrees in diameter, beaming together through the dusky colors of sunset. No telescope is required to enjoy this naked-eye event: sky map.

The planets will hang together in the western sky until 10 pm or so. When they leave, following the sun below the horizon, you should stay, because that is when the Perseid meteor shower begins. From 10 pm until dawn, meteors will flit across the starry sky in a display that’s even more exciting than a planetary get-together.”

Me again. It will be best to get away from the lights of the city, but supposedly it will be worth it just to drag out a lawn chair and gaze up. Venus is the brightest of the planets.

The full moon this month is on the 24th. Eco historian Hayden Mathews reminded me this weekend how endangered these great fish are, and they represented a way of life for many early Americans. How things have changed…

• Full Sturgeon Moon – August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Love from Marney