The Super Blue Moon is coming our way on August 30th. This moon earns its title by being the closest full moon of the year and the second full moon of the month. Moonrise is 18 minutes after sunset; a spot along the North Shore of Lake Superior could be the ideal viewing spot.
Not to be outdone, Saturn is paying a close visit as well. To see Saturn, face the southeast around 10pm. "You'll see it above the lake, about a fist and a half high," says Bob King. To see the rings, a telescope is great, but binoculars may very well be sufficient. And some fun facts about those rings - their diameter measures roughly 3/4 of the distance from Earth to the Moon, and yet the depth of the rings can be measured in feet. "It's around 300 feet," says King who has a comparative image to illustrate just how thin that number is. "Just image a piece of plastic wrap as big as Duluth, that's something similar to Saturn's rings."
You can hear Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy every other Tuesday at 8:20am on Northland Morning.
