The First Of Two August Full Supermoons Rose On Tuesday (PHOTOS)

The first of two August full supermoons graced the sky last night. The Sturgeon Moon reached full illumination Tuesday afternoon, and is actually the second of four consecutive full supermoons this year, according to almanac.com.

(MORE: Two Supermoons And Meteor Showers For Skywatchers)

Photos show the full Sturgeon Supermoon as it rose around the world, from Istanbul's Galata Tower to the New York City skyline and beyond.

The Maine Farmer’s Almanac began referring to each month’s moon by their Native American names in the 1930s, and these names have since become widely used, NASA reports. August’s full moon was called the Sturgeon Moon by the Algonquin tribes. Sturgeon, large fish found in the Great Lakes, were more easily caught this time of year. This moon is also often referred to as the Corn Moon, according to EarthSky, after the crop that grows readily this time of year.

The next full moon will also be a supermoon, occurring on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. This is referred to as a blue moon, since it is the second full moon within one month. According to CNN, blue moons occur about once every two and a half years, however, it is much more rare for blue moons to be supermoons. The next time two supermoons will occur in one month will be in 2037, according to retired NASA astronomer Fred Espenak.

Senior editor Nicole Bonaccorso works as weather.com's photo editor and writes about breaking news, travel, climate and more.

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