What is a “Sturgeon Moon”?

7 August 2014

ALERT: FULL SUPERMOON (& STURGEON MOON) ON SUNDAY 10 AUGUST 2014

ALERT: PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER PEAKS TUESDAY 12 AUGUST 2014

(Author: I'm an old skywatcher.  About 12-15 yearly meteor showers appear on most lists.  But all the others together can compare with this one.  You'll be able to see some activity, not just on Tuesday, but on the nights of Monday the 11th and Wednesday the 13th.  Some books say (correctly) that the best time to watch is in the wee hours of the morning.  True enough.  But there's still plenty to see just after dark -- if you want to take the kids out to watch!)

The Short Answer (TSA)

            The “Sturgeon Moon” is the Full Moon that happens in the month of August.  Only rarely are there more than one Full Moon is a particular month.  There are several different names given to the Full Moon of each month.  The Farmer’s Almanac is the source of the name “Sturgeon Moon” for the Full Moon in the month of August. 

            But the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” got the name from Native American tribes.  The first European settlers in colonial American lived in what is now the Northeastern United States.  For the fishing Native American tribes, including the Algonquin tribes of the region, the August Full Moon was the “Sturgeon Moon.”  The tribes picked the name because August was a good month for catching large fish like the sturgeon in the Great (and other large) Lakes. 

A Sturgeon

            Other tribes in other regions had other names for the August Full Moon.  But The Farmers Almanac picked-up the name “Sturgeon Moon” and it stuck.  Many almanacs and other listings of American names for the Full Moons still favor “Sturgeon Moon” for the month of August.

            By the way, this August wasn’t one of those rare months with two Full Moons.  But what would have happened if a particular month of August had two instead of just one Full Moon? 

            The first Full Moon would be called the “Sturgeon Moon.”  The second Full Moon wouldn’t have a special month-related name.  A second Full Moon is so rare that it’s called a “blue moon.”  A “blue moon” isn’t blue in color.  The name “blue moon” is used to describe something that very rarely happens – like two Full Moons in a single month.  The phrase, “Once in a blue moon” is used to mean “rarely” -- "only once in a very great while."

M Grossmann of Hazelwood, Missouri
(& Belleville, Illinois)
About the Author
7 August 2014