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Heads up! This week's full moon is a supermoon and a blue moon

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By: Katie McGraw

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The moon becomes full this Monday! While it is a full moon, it is also a supermoon and a blue moon...but will clouds ruin the show?

WHAT IS A SUPERMOON?
Supermoons are when the full moon occurs when the moon is closest to Earth. When the moon reaches its closest point to Earth, known as perigee, full moons appear larger and brighter than normal.

A supermoon will appear 30% brighter and 14% larger than a typical full moon. According to NASA, there are usually three to four supermoons yearly, and they appear consecutively.

This year will feature four supermoons during August, September, October, and November.

WHAT IS A BLUE MOON?
"Happens once in a blue moon!" A blue moon happens every 2 to 3 years, but there are two types of blue moons, monthly and seasonal, making it seem more common.

This upcoming moon is a seasonal blue moon since this is the fourth full moon of summer compared to the typical three. Seasonal blue moons are considered the traditional definition.

Monthly blue moons, which is actually a misunderstanding of the original definition, are when there are two full moons in one calendar month.

The last seasonal blue moon was in August 2021, the next one in May 2027, and the next monthly Blue Moon should occur in May 2026.

So, while supermoons and blue moons happen fairly regularly when they do align, it is rare, typically occurring about every 10 years. The last monthly super blue moon happened a year ago, but the next super blue moon (of both varieties) is not expected until 2037.

WILL CLOUDS RUIN THE VIEW?
A slow-moving system has been hanging around for the last few days and, unfortunately, looks to linger until Monday or perhaps even Tuesday with lingering showers and clouds.

The moon technically becomes full Monday afternoon but will appear full for about three days, from Sunday to Wednesday.

Clouds will be trying to decrease throughout Monday and Tuesday - so whenever you are outside at night over the next few days - look up.

On Saturday evening, between rounds of severe storms, there were enough breaks in the clouds for me to be able to see the nearly full moon! The moon will be rising between 8 and 9:30 p.m. over the next three days and set.