ORLANDO, Fla. – Ever heard of the phrase, “Once in a Blue Moon”? It’s widely used to describe a rare event because, astronomically speaking, Blue Moons really are rare.
In the year of 2022, there were no Blue Moons. The last Blue Moon that Earth saw was on August 22, 2021.
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But exactly what is a Blue Moon?
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There are two kinds of Blue Moons, according to NASA, and neither has anything to do with the moon actually being blue.
A seasonal Blue Moon refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. A monthly Blue Moon is the second full moon within one calendar month. We see a Blue Moon about once every three years, on average.
The moon phases typically take 29.5 days to complete, which means it takes just 354 days to complete 12 lunar cycles. Every 2 to 3 years, a 13th full moon is observed within a calendar year.
The first full moon will grace the skies on August 1. It’s also known as the Sturgeon Moon because the giant sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this time of summer, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
It’ll reach peak illumination at 2:32 p.m. ET Tuesday, when it’s below the horizon in the U.S.
As it turns dark, it will still appear full when it rises above the horizon in the southeast sky that evening after sunset.
The second full moon, the Blue Moon, is expected to peak on Wednesday, August 30, at 9:39 p.m. ET.
As an added treat, both of the full moons in August are also supermoons. A supermoon happens when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth (which is called a perigee) at the same time the Moon is full.
The next Blue Moon of the calendar month will be on August 30-31, 2024.
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