Terminator Moon

NASA Picture of Terminator Moon

What exactly is a terminator moon. According to the Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 15, 2022, here is the explanation from NASA:

What’s different about this Moon? It’s the terminators. In the featured image, you can’t directly see any terminator — the line that divides the light of day from the dark of night. That’s because the image is a digital composite of 29 near-terminator lunar strips. Terminator regions show the longest and most prominent shadows — shadows which, by their contrast and length, allow a flat photograph to appear three-dimensional. The original images and data were taken near the Moon by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Many of the Moon’s craters stand out because of the shadows they all cast to the right. The image shows in graphic detail that the darker regions known as maria are not just darker than the rest of the Moon — they are flatter.

The Sturgeon Moon

Today Marks the Sturgeon Moon

Today—August 18—Marks the Sturgeon Moon

There is a separate name for every full moon of the year. No doubt you’ve heard of the blue moon, when there are two full moons in a single month. That, however, is more a trick of the calendar than of anything else.

The sturgeon moon of August 18 is also called the red moon. the grain moon, the green corn moon, and the blueberry moon.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, here are some other full moon nicknames:

  • January: The Wolf Moon
  • February: The Snow Moon
  • March: The Worm Moon
  • April: The Pink Moon
  • May: The Flower Moon
  • June: The Buck Moon
  • August: The Sturgeon Moon
  • September: The Corn Moon or the Harvest Moon
  • October: The Hunter’s Moon or the Harvest Moon
  • November: The Beaver Moon
  • December: The Cold Moon or the Long Nights Moon

Since the Indians did not use the Gregorian Calendar, they would not be troubled by the Blue Moon. After all, it only happens once in a Blue Moon.