The often-heard proverbial phrase 'Once in a Blue Moon' will finally meet reality as the night-sky of October 31, 2020, will have a 'Blue Moon' from around 8:19 PM. Sounds enchanting? Read the article below to find out more about the 'Blue Moon', how it looks like and the sighting of the next blue moon.
What is a Blue Moon?
If you are wondering that the colour of the moon will change to 'Blue' on October 31, you are wrong! The term 'Blue Moon' has nothing to do with the colour of the moon and is used to indicate a second full moon in the same month.
This month, the first full moon was sighted on October 1, 2020, and was called 'Harvest Moon'. The second moon will be sighted on October 31, 2020-- on the date of Halloween.
How does a 'Blue Moon' appear?
A 'Blue Moon' looks like any other full moon (big, bright and beautiful) and has nothing to do with the blue colour.
What is the reason behind this phenomena?
The duration of the lunar month is-- 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds. The Moon takes 29.53 days to complete its orbit around the Earth. This means that the first moon should be sighted on the first or the second day of the month but February has only 28 days. Due to this reason, February doesn't witness a 'Blue Moon'.
As stated by Arvind Paranjpaye, director of Nehru Planetarium, the second full moon phenomena occur after every 30 months.
When will the next 'Blue Moon' be sighted?
The next 'Blue Moon' in a 30-day month is expected to be sighted in September 2050 (last sighted in June 2007). The next 'Blue Moon' in a month having 31 days will be sighted on August 31, 2023 (last sighted January 31, 2018).
How many full moons will be sighted in 2020?
A total of 13 moons will be sighted in this particular calendar year, unlike 12 moons under normal circumstances. This is because a lunar year has 354.36 days and the Earth's orbit of the Sun takes 365.25 days. Thus, every 2.7 years, on average, there is a gap that allows for an extra moon to appear.
| Do you know? The proverbial-phrase 'Once in a Blue Moon' was first used in the early 16th century to define something absurd. |
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