Night Sky Astronomy

Posts Tagged ‘blue moon’

On August 31st, we will see the next Blue Moon.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean that the moon will be the colour blue, although that would be cool, but it means that there will be two full moons in a single month. The first full moon of the month occurred on the 1st August so there is enough time left in the month for the next full moon to come around. This can happen every 2-3 years, so isn’t actually out of the ordinary. It is also possible for there to be double Blue Moons in a single year which last happened in 1999 when there were two full moons in January and March but no full moon in February. The next time this will happen will be 2018.

There are actually two definitions of a blue moon. The first is what I have written above which originated in the 1940’s, but the other is when there are 4 full moons in a single season (Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn). The third full moon out of the four is then called the Blue Moon. This came about centuries ago in folklore through old Farmers’ stories. The next one of these Blue Moons will be on August 21st 2013.

But whichever definition you prefer, either way, it is a special month for our companion, the Moon!