September 01, 2023
Supermoon chance for maramataka lesson
Aotearoa was lit up last night by a super moon which was also a blue moon.
That just means it was the second full moon within a month, and Maori astronomer Rangi Mātāmua says that’s not as rare as the phrase once in a blue moon would suggest.
It’s about aligning the solar and lunar calendars – something that done in the western calendar by having an extra day every fourth or leap year every four years, and in maramataka by having an extra month every three years.
It means this year there are 13 full moons.
“This extra full moon coincided with the moon being at its closest point to the earth, about 350km from the earth so it was much bigger, 14 percent bigger than when it is at its furthest point from the earth and about 30 percent brighter,” he says.
Professor Mātāmua says for Maori traditionally this is a time to get ready for planting and busy work in the gardens as the earth begins to warm up.