Lunar calendar · August
The moon in August August
In August, the nights finally lengthen and find a true darkness again: the summer sky unfurls once more, crossed in mid-August by the shooting stars of the Perseids. The month’s full moon is called the Sturgeon Moon, after that ancient giant fish once caught in abundance in the Great Lakes. A month of quiet depth, between the harvests and the end of summer.
The essentials
- Traditional full moon
- the Sturgeon Moon
- Origin of the name
- the plentiful sturgeon fishing in the Great Lakes at summer’s end
- Season
- late summer, the nights start to lengthen again
- In the sky
- the Perseids in mid-August, sometimes washed out by moonlight
- Keyword for the month
- depth
August’s lunar mood
August marks a quiet turning point: the nights lengthen by several minutes a day and find a true darkness again that June and July had diluted. The Milky Way becomes visible once more, far from the cities, and the moon regains a setting of full night for its risings and its settings.
It’s also the month of the Perseids, the swarm of shooting stars that peaks in mid-August. The moon largely decides the show: a moonless night reveals dozens of meteors an hour, while a full moon wipes out most of them. Good reason to keep a close eye on the lunation this month.
Why the “Sturgeon Moon”?
The name comes from the shores of the North American Great Lakes: at the end of summer, the sturgeon, a giant fish that can top two meters, let itself be caught in abundance and fed the communities for the cold season. The farmers’ almanacs kept this name among those the Indigenous peoples gave to this moon.
The animal is worth a closer look: the sturgeon’s lineage has been swimming for more than a hundred million years, long before the first flowers. In Europe, the same full moon was called instead the Grain Moon or the Barley Moon, in step with the harvests. Here again, each landscape gave its name to its sky.
August’s gentle rituals
The gesture of the month fits on a blanket laid out in the grass: lying down on a mid-August night, letting your eyes adjust to the dark for twenty minutes or so, and counting the shooting stars. If the moon lights things up too much, wait for it to set or turn your back to it to keep your night vision.
It’s also a fine month for taking stock: tradition links August to the first harvests and invites you to look at what has ripened since spring, in the soil as in your projects. A page of journal written at the full moon is more than enough.
And in the garden?
In the garden, August harvests by the armful, sows spinach and autumn lamb’s lettuce and takes cuttings in the shade: the step-by-step awaits you in the August lunar gardening calendar.
The lunations of August (exact dates)
Calculated from the ephemeris, in London time, and rechecked every night. Each lunation has its own detailed page.
Frequently asked questions
- Is August’s full moon a supermoon?
- Some years yes, others no: it all depends on the Earth-Moon distance at the precise moment of the full moon, which varies from month to month. When the two coincide, the disc looks a little bigger and brighter, without the difference leaping out at you.
- Does the moon get in the way of watching the Perseids?
- Yes, when it’s full or gibbous in mid-August: its brightness wipes out the faintest shooting stars. The best years are those when the new moon falls near the peak. Check the lunation shown on this page before planning your night outdoors.