7/31/15 – This month there was a full moon on July 1 and tonight, the last day of July, there’s another.
A blue moon occurs roughly once every 2.7 years,” according to Space.com
A blue moon, at least according to the modern definition of the term, has nothing to do with color. It simply means a second full moon in the same calendar month.
As NASA explains “Most blue moons appear pale gray and white, just like the moon you’ve seen on any other night.”
A blue moon doesn’t happen very often. The last time was in August 2012 and the next time will be January 2018, so “once in a blue moon” is a phrase still worthy of a rare occurrence..
Even so, “on rare occasions, the moon can turn [the color] blue,” according to NASA . “A truly blue moon usually requires a volcanic eruption. Back in 1883, for example, people saw blue moons almost every night after the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded with a force of a 100-megaton nuclear bomb.”
Photo by DW 7/31/15 10:27pm
