A rare second full moon this August will be visible Friday night for the last time until July 2015. According to Space.com, the "blue moon" will reach its full phase at 9:58 a.m. EDT Friday.
Blue moons, named for their rarity and not for their color, come once every 2.7 years, but have in the past come multiple times in a year. Space.com reported that 1999 saw two blue moons in January and March.
QUT physicist, Dr. Stephen Hughes, explained the color confusion to Phys.org, "A blue-tinged moon is a rarity and so maybe that's where the saying came from. There are reports of blue moons after the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 in which volcanic ash was ejected 80km high, on the edge of the ionosphere," he said.
Moons take 29.5 days to orbit Earth, Space.com reported, but some calendar months have 30 or 31 days allowing for two full moons in one month.
This year, the blue moon will be seen twice in August (August 1 and August 31) in most of the world, but will be seen twice in September (September 1 and September 30) in the Kamchatka region of the Russian Far East and in New Zealand, Space.com reported.
Those on the West Coast of the United State will be able to watch the blue moon at 3 p.m. PST through a special broadcast by Slooh, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to the Times, the broadcast will air from an observatory on the Canary Islands and will honor Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk the moon, who passed away on Saturday.
Newsday reported that Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at Griffith Observatory said, the blue moon, which was first visible this morning between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. PDT, will be visible on the West Coast at 7:13 p.m. PDT.
For those unable to see the broadcast by Slooh or the rise on the West Coast, NASA put together a video about the blue moon.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
