Look for Sturgeon Moon to shine down tonight

August 7, 2017

Day and night sides of Earth at the instant of the August full moon.

The moon may have looked full and round in last night's sky, yet this August full moon actually falls today, August 7, at 11:11 a.m., which is during the daylight hours for us in the Americas. Normally, it’s not vital whether the crest of the moon’s full phase falls in daylight or darkness for your part of the globe. Tonight's full moon is a bit different, however, because it will undergo a shallow partial lunar eclipse. We in the Americas will miss it because the full moon crests in daylight for us. And a full moon is always opposite the sun, up all night. Thus the moon will be below our horizon when the eclipse takes place. In North America, we often call the August full moon the Sturgeon Moon, Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon. The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon 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. Technically speaking, the moon is full for a only fleeting instant – when the moon is 180-degrees from the sun in ecliptic longitude. The worldwide map below shows you the day and night sides of the world at the instant of the August 7 full moon. Africa and Europe will see the partial lunar eclipse after sunset tonight. India and western Asia will see it around midnight. Eastern Asia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will see it before sunrise August 8. This eclipse will not be visible in the Americas. Everyone around the word, however, will see a full-looking moon in the east at dusk or nightfall on August 6 and 7, highest up for the night around midnight and sitting low in the west at dawn. The moon stays more or less opposite the sun for the duration of the night after darkness falls for these next few days.