I didn’t take any photos of the full moon last night. I’ve learned it’s a difficult thing to shoot without a professional camera! The full moon last night seemed fitting for Halloween night. It helped illuminate the way for trick-or-treaters and certainly added mood to the evening. No matter what time of the year, a full moon on a clear night can be a gorgeous sight to behold. Last night was no exception. Along with the full moon, two planets were clearly visible as well as a sprinkling of stars. Awesome (a word often overused and misunderstood) is truly a good word to use for God’s creation.
Did you know last night’s full moon was a blue moon? I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “once in a blue moon.” In the Cleveland area we often apply it to our sports teams. When I was young, I thought a blue moon meant the moon took on a blue cast. After all, I’ve seen moons that are yellow or almost golden in color. I’ve even see a blood red moon. So why not blue?
Well . . . just in case you didn’t know, it doesn’t look blue at all. It’s a term used for the second full moon within the same month. It doesn’t happen often, so that’s why we say rare events occur “once in a blue moon.” According to NASA a full moon on Halloween only happens approximately every 19 years. And yes, the last one was in 2001 (but only visible in Central and Pacific time zones.) The 2020 Halloween blue moon was the first one visible in all time zones since 1944, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
Apparently any full moon that falls on Halloween is a blue moon due to the month having 31 days. The moon cycle takes 29.5 days. Therefore, if we have a full moon on the 31st, we must have had a full moon earlier in the month as well.
Many terms describing the moon are even odder than a blue moon. In January 2019 a super blood wolf moon occurred and a super blue blood moon Continue reading “Once in a blue moon”