Sturgeon moon & the last supermoon of the year captured in spectacular photos around the world

August 11 full moon
August 11 full moon

The Sturgeon moon – August’s full moon – took over the night sky on Thursday, giving spectators around the world a spectacular view of the last supermoon of the year.

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This Sturgeon moon is considered to be the fourth supermoon in a row after the Buck moon in July, Strawberry moon in June and Flower moon in May. A supermoon refers to a full moon when the moon is within 90% of perigee – its closet approach to Earth.

The full Sturgeon Supermoon
The full Sturgeon supermoon rises in the horizon seen from Alameda, Calif., on Thursday, August 11, 2022.Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images

 

The Sturgeon moon peaked Thursday night, at about 9:36 p.m. EDT, according to NASA. It will also appear nearly full on Friday and Saturday.

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Here are some of the photos of the Sturgeon moon from around the world.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Supermoon
The Sturgeon supermoon, the final supermoon of the year, rises behind Edinburgh Castle. Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images 

Kosice, Slovakia

Supermoon setting on the night sky above Slovakia's Kosice
The last supermoon of the year sets in the early morning hours above Kosice, Slovakia on Friday. Robert Nemeti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 

Liverpool, England

Supermoon
The Sturgeon supermoon, the final supermoon of the year, rises over the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool. Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images 

Istabul, Turkey

The Sturgeon Moon, The Last Super Moon Of 2022, Lights Up The Night Sky
The Sturgeon full moon rises next to Istanbul’s Camlica Mosque on Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey. The Sturgeon Moon is the last supermoon of 2022./ Getty Images 

How did it get its name? Starting in the 1930s, the Maine Farmer’s Almanac began publishing Native American names for full moons, NASA said. Based on this almanac, Algonquin tribes that lived in the northeastern U.S. called the full moon in August the Sturgeon moon after the large fish that were more easily caught that same time of year in the Great Lakes.

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The Sturgeon moon may outshine another major celestial event: the Perseids meteor shower. The most popular annual meteor shower, which is active from July to September, will peak between Friday and Saturday.

NASA suggests the best time to look for the meteors will be after midnight Saturday, and viewers need to be far from light pollution. The agency said you need to look north and away from the Moon’s gaze.

The next supermoons won’t be until August 1, 2023 and August 31, 2023, according to In-The-Sky.org, an online guide to what you can see in the night sky.