August Full Moon for 2009, photo by Kevin’s Stuff

In 2012 we have a rare treat – two full moons in the month of August! The Sturgeon Moon is full TONIGHT at 11:28 PM and the 2nd full moon swings around at 9:58 AM on August 31st. Kevin took this photo at the James C. Veen Observatory near Grand Rapids and writes:

The Full Moon for August is the Full Sturgeon Moon, when this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most readily caught. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because the moon rises looking reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Some other names are the Dog Day’s Moon (Colonial America), Harvest Moon (China), Dispute Moon (Celtic) and the Corn Moon (English Medieval).

See this photo on black (very nice) and in Kevin’s The Moon slideshow.