The last chance to view a blue moon till 2015 is Friday August 31. A blue moon isn't referred to as blue because of it's color but because of it's rarity. The saying goes, "once in a blue moon" for a reason.
Some calenders say that when two full moons occur with a month the second is called a "blue moon."
That full moon may not look different than any other full moon, however it can change colors in certain conditions. After forest fires or volcanic eruptions it can appear bluish and ash particles that are deposited into the earth's atmosphere can make the moon appear bluish or a lavender hue.
August's first full moon was on August 1. Blue moons occur because calendar months aren't always in sync with the moon's cycle. It takes a total of 29.5 days for the moon to fully orbit the earth during which time it goes through all of its phases. Not all calendar months have 30 or 31 days in them, hence why once in a while a blue moon gets squeezed into one month.
Two full moons in one month are rare, and generally occur on average 2.7 years apart. The last blue moon was on new years eve, 2009. However in 1999 blue moons occurred in both January and March.
So where did the term come from? According to Smithsonian.com "Originally, in the early 1900s in places such as the Maine Farmer's Almanac, the term "blue moon" was used to refer to a related phenomenon, when four full moons occurred within a given season, instead of the typical three. However, in 1946, amateur astronomer James High Pruett incorrectly interpreted the term in an article he wrote in Sky & Telescope using the meaning we know today."
The next time two full moons will occur in a single month is July 2015.
The full moon will reach its full phase at 9:58 a.m. EDT Friday.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
