Ever heard of “once in a blue moon”? This month will give you the opportunity to witness this rare event although the second moon of the month occurring on August 30th will not actually be blue in color. The term “blue moon” references the rare occurrence when two full moons appear in the same month. With the time between full moons being 29 and a half days, there can never be a blue moon in the month of February, and the first of the two moons in other months needs to occur on the first or second day of the month. As the first full moon this month falls on the first, the second full moon will fall on the 30th and this will give us a “blue moon”. In addition to the “once in a blue moon” event this month, the second moon will be in a closer proximity to the earth than normal (about 14,000 miles closer) which will make the moon to appear larger than normal which is referred to as a supermoon. On average there are 3-4 supermoons each year, but the occurrence of a supermoon coinciding with a blue moon only happens once every two and a half years. You can catch the first full moon tonight, and compare it to the blue supermoon later this month.
