Sturgeon Moon swim at Trinkie outdoor pool near Wick
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A group of local swimmers braved the elements at Wick's Trinkie pool to witness last night's (Tuesday, August 1) lunar phenomenon known as a Sturgeon Moon.
The spectacle is not connected to former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon but got its name from sturgeon fish that appear in huge numbers each August and were caught by Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of North America.
Melissa Green from the KW1 Swimmers group on Facebook said she went along to the Trinkie along with 10 others to have a late night swim and hopefully witness the Sturgeon Moon.
"Others joined us to watch the moon rise at 10.19pm. Some swam before the moonrise and some swam after," said Melissa.
"It was amazing to see the red glow from the large moon coming up behind the wind turbines. We had a lovely late swim and it was nice to have some new people join us to swim at the Trinkie for their first time." She added: "We hope to have another swim at the end of the month to see the second supermoon."
This month will see two of these supermoons with the next, the Full Blue Moon, occurring on August 30. The phenomenon takes place when a full moon is near its closest point to Earth, making it appear up to 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter compared to when it is furthest away.
Davina Lyall was with Melissa and both have been involved in the preservation of the outdoor pool as part of the Trinkie Heritage Preservation Group.
"We did the supermoon last year at the Trinkie as well," said Davina.
"This year I just realised the night before, then I messaged Mellissa. As the Trinkie is so low and in line, slowly at 10.24pm it started peeking up."
Davina described as being very atmospheric and like a "bright orange bounce ball". Eleven of the group swam and five gazed in awe at the supermoon. The swimming group welcomes all to come and witness the next supermoon.
