Full Moon Bonfire
Monday, August 19, 2024
Location: On the beach between BW 1 and 2
Sunset – 8:00 pm
Moonrise –8:19 pm
High Tide – 8:52 pm
Full Sturgeon Moon
Debby left the beach relatively undamaged. The tropical forecast for the full moon is good so let’s celebrate with a bonfire on the beach. It’s a great time to see old friends and meet new.
To keep things simple, each person brings what you want: food, drinks, chairs, and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire, and a full moon.
Hopefully, the weather remains accommodating. People ask if the bonfire will be held if it’s rainy. The bonfire will be canceled if it is raining or rain is threatening as few would be comfortable attending.
By terms of the permit, the fire needs to be out no later than 10:00 pm. The timing of sunset and moonrise allows for a nice evening on the beach with minimal disruption to dinner hour.
Other night sky observation opportunities:
The Perseid meteor shower peaked the morning of August 12 but we may still see some “shooting stars” the night of the bonfire. Of course, the full moon may limit their visibility.
The Internationial Space Station has no visible passes in our area this week. According to spacetourismguide.com, there are no significant astronomical events in August other than the Perseid shower and a few less active meteor showers.
Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar:
- Wednesday, September 18 (day after full moon)
- Thursday, October 17
- Saturday, November 16 (day after full moon)
There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your houseguests.
Supermoons are caused by the shape of the Moon’s orbit, which is not a perfect circle. It orbit is an ellipse, or oval, shape. Each month, it reaches a point farthest from the Earth, called apogee, and a point closest to the Earth, called perigee. A “supermoon” occurs when the Moon is at least ninety percent of the way to its perigee position at the same time that it is in its “full” or “new” phase. August’s full moon will appear slightly larger than normal and is known as a supermoon. This is the first of four supermoons in a row. And it’s a seasonal blue moon, that’s because it’s the third of four full moons in a season.
How the full moon got its name:
Per Old Farmers Almanac, August is named the Full Sturgeon Moon – The Great Lakes and Lake Champlain sturgeon were said to be most readily caught during this full Moon.
Other names:
• Black Cherries Moon (Assiniboine)
• Corn Moon (Algonquin, Ojibwe)
• Flying Up Moon (Cree)
• Harvest Moon (Dakota)
• Mountain Shadows Moon (Tlingit)
• Ricing Moon (Anishinaabe)
This site also says the Cherokee Indians called it the Fruit Moon and the English Medieval name was the Corn Moon. Another website says the Chinese call it Harvest Moon.
-Submitted by Judy Morr