Tonight will have a full moon, known as the Sturgeon Moon, which happens to also be the last supermoon of 2022. Moon rise will occur in the southeastern sky and peak at 8:36 (CT).

Why Sturgeon Moon?

The reason this is called the Sturgeon full moon is because each month’s Full Moon is given a name that corresponds with something that generally occurs in that month. Like May is the Flower Moon because that’s when flowers bloom, or June is the Strawberry Moon because June is known for harvesting strawberries. August’s full moon became the Sturgeon Moon because giant Sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this part of the summer.

What is a Supermoon?

A supermoon is nonscientific term used to describe a full moon that is at its nearest point to earth. This scientific name is called perigee. The Earth’s orbit is shaped like an ellipse, or an oval, it is not perfectly round. That means there are 2 points where the moon is closer to the Earth than any other time.

On a perfectly clear night, when a full moon coincides with perigee, the moon appears 14 percent larger and 30 brighter than usual.

The term “supermoon” was first applied by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979.