Chance to witness the blue moon this coming weekend

THIS coming weekend is your opportunity to observe the blue moon once again, an event that occurs once every 2.5 years in the lunar cycle

Next Sunday, August 22, is your chance to witness the blue moon phenomenon in the night sky, an event that occurs every 2.5 years, however, as NASA points out, the moon will not actually change colour and become blue, it will simply look a shade of pale grey and white, but is a term that has become popular to describe this lunar phenomenon since the 1940s.

In fact, the moon will not look any different to the full moons that are visible once every month of the year, and NASA is quick to explain the circumstance that the blue moon is special because it is an “extra” moon, in a season that would normally only have four full moons, with NASA reminding of a unique occurrence, in 1999, when there was a full moon twice in the same month, in January and again in March.

This Moon will be fully illuminated and very bright, and can be seen throughout the night with the naked eye, without the need for any special object such as a telescope, or binoculars, but it is always recommended to try and observe its full splendour from a location away from any light pollution, such as the centre of any town or city, where the presence of so many lights can detract from your viewing pleasure.

In some countries such as the US, and Canada, it is called the ‘sturgeon full moon’, because inthe Great Lakes, and Lake Champlain, this fish is more easily caught, as reported by sevilla.abc.es.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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