August 9 Full Moon 2025: Exact Peak Time, How to Watch the Sturgeon Moon & Its Spiritual Meaning

Skywatchers are in for a luminous treat this weekend as the August “Sturgeon Moon” reaches full phase on Saturday, August 9 at 3:55 a.m. ET (07:55 UTC). Because the Moon will be near perigee—the closest point to Earth in its orbit—this is technically a supermoon, appearing up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than an average full moon. Why it’s called the Sturgeon Moon • The Algonquin and Ojibwe peoples named August’s full moon for the surge of giant sturgeon caught in the Great Lakes and other North American waterways this time of year. • Other traditional nicknames include the Grain Moon and the Green Corn Moon, reflecting late-summer harvests. Best times to look up • Moon-rise: Friday, Aug 8 and Saturday, Aug 9 between roughly 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time, rising in the southeast. Catch it low on the horizon for the “moon-illusion” effect that makes it look even larger. • Peak fullness: 3:55 a.m. ET Saturday, but the disc will look full to the unaided eye from dusk Friday through dawn Monday. Bonus celestial lineup • Perseid meteors are already sprinkling the sky, ramping up toward their Aug 12–13 maximum. A super-bright moon will wash out faint streaks, so view meteors after moon-set or before moon-rise for best results. • Six naked-eye planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus—span the predawn sky this weekend, offering a rare multi-planet tableau. How to photograph the supermoon 1. Scout a location with an interesting foreground—lighthouses, city skylines, or mountain ridges. 2. Arrive 30 minutes before moon-rise to set up; use a telephoto lens (200 mm +) for a big lunar disc. 3. Expose for the moon (ISO 100-400, f/8-11, 1/125 s), then blend in a foreground frame if needed. Spiritual and cultural notes Astrologers associate the Sturgeon Moon with perseverance and resilience, mirroring the hard-fighting fish after which it is named. Many practitioners schedule intention-setting rituals or moon-water infusions during this lunation to channel those qualities into personal goals. Weather backup If clouds spoil the view, tune in to live streams from observatories such as Virtual Telescope Project, Griffith Observatory, or NASA’s Moon Tune channel, which often simulcast supermoon rises. Key takeaways • Full supermoon peaks Aug 9 at 3:55 a.m. ET. • Appears bigger and brighter; rises both Friday and Saturday nights. • Coincides with early Perseid meteors and a six-planet dawn display. • Next supermoon won’t arrive until September’s Harvest Moon, so don’t miss this one. Set alarms, charge cameras, and head outside—the August Sturgeon Supermoon promises a dazzling midsummer show you can enjoy with the naked eye, binoculars, or a backyard telescope.