August full moon will be supermoon and a blue moon

Be sure to look up at the sky next week and take special note of the moon. It's something special this month.

It's a supermoon.

It's a seasonal blue moon.

It's the first full moon of August, the sturgeon moon.

It will appear full for several days, from Sunday morning from early Wednesday morning, Aug. 18 through Aug. 21, according to NASA.

When is the next full moon of 2024?

The next full moon will be Aug. 19, at 2:26 p.m. EDT.

➤ NASA interactive map to observing the moon each day of the year

When are other full moons this year?

Space.com provided dates for full moons for the rest of 2024: (all times Eastern)

• Sept. 17: Harvest moon, 10:34 p.m.
• Oct. 17: Hunter's moon, 7:26 a.m.
• Nov. 15: Beaver moon, 4:29 p.m.
• Dec. 15: Cold moon, 4:02 a.m.

What's a supermoon?

A supermoon is when a full moon occurs during its closest approach to Earth. They are the biggest and brightest full moons of the year, NASA said.

August's supermoon will be the first of four consecutive supermoons in 2024, with "the full moons in September and October virtually tied for the closest of the year," NASA said.

When will the next supermoons appear?

Earthsky.org said the supermoons for the remainder of 2024 will occur:

• Aug. 19: Moon will be 361,969 kilometers from Earth.
• Sept. 18: Moon will be 357,485 kilometers from Earth.
• Oct. 17. This will be the closest supermoon of 2024, with the moon 357,363 kilometers from Earth, barely beating out September's.
• Nov. 15: 361,866 kilometers from Earth.

What's a blue moon?

There are two types of blue moons: monthly and seasonal, according to NASA.

A monthly blue moon is when there are two full moons in a calendar month. The second full moon in a month is a blue moon.

A seasonal blue moon occurs when there are four full moons in one astronomical season, instead of the usual three. When this happens, the third full moon of the four is called a seasonal blue moon.

This type of blue moon is a rare occurrence.

When will the next blue moons appear?

A monthly blue moon happens about once every 2.7 years.

A seasonal blue moon occurs about once every 2.5 years.

The last seasonal blue moon was in August 2021, and the next one won't occur until May 20, 2027.

The next monthly blue moon will take place on May 31, 2026, according to Time and Date.

How often is a supermoon also a blue moon?

The time between super blue moons is quite irregular ― it can be as much as 20 years ― but in general, 10 years is the average, according to NASA.

The next super blue moons will occur in January and March 2037.

Partial lunar eclipse coming in September 2024

A partial lunar eclipse on Sept. 17-18 will be visible over North America, Europe, Much of Asia, Africa, South America, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Arctic and Antarctica, according to TimeandDate.com.

It will begin at 8:41 p.m. EDT Sept. 17 and end It will begin at 12:47 a.m. EDT on Sept. 18.

Moon trivia: What's a black moon?

On occasion, February may not have a full moon at all, a phenomenon known as a Black Moon, according to Time and Date.