Since people caught an abundance of sturgeon—a large freshwater fish that’s been around since the Mesozoic era—in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain during this part of summer, they started calling August’s full moon the sturgeon moon. It has a few lesser-known monikers, too, including the “full green corn moon” (a nod to the approaching harvest season), and the slightly wordy “moon when all things ripen.”
This summer has been an especially exciting time for avid sky-gazers—the NEOWISE comet flew close to Earth in mid-July, and the ongoing Perseid meteor shower is gearing up for its peak around August 11.
Though full moons aren’t quite as rare, the sight of a glowing white orb illuminating the night is still worth a glance out your window.
When Is August’s Full Moon?
As The Old Farmer’s Almanac reports, the eighth full moon of 2020 will reach its peak at 11:59 a.m. EST on Monday, August 3. If that’s daytime where you live, you’ll have to wait for the sun to set that night, or you can catch it the night before—Sunday, August 2.
Why Is It Called a Sturgeon Moon?
Each month’s full moon has a nickname (or multiple nicknames), usually of folk origin, that coincides with certain plant, animal, or weather activity common at that time of year.
January’s full moon, for example, was named the “wolf moon” because wolves were said to howl more often during January. June’s “strawberry moon” occurred when strawberries were ripe and ready to be picked.
Since people caught an abundance of sturgeon—a large freshwater fish that’s been around since the Mesozoic era—in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain during this part of summer, they started calling August’s full moon the sturgeon moon.
It has a few lesser-known monikers, too, including the “full green corn moon” (a nod to the approaching harvest season), and the slightly wordy “moon when all things ripen.”
Originally published at Mental floss