The phrase ‘Once in a Blue Moon’ is aptly suited for October this year, which will witness the rare occurrence of a second full moon on Saturday, ie October 31. The term Blue Moon is used to indicate a second full moon in a month and has nothing to do with the colour of the moon.
The next Halloween Blue Moon will take place in 2039, so you might not want to miss the chance to view it this Halloween.
The first full moon this month occurred on October 2 at 2.35 am. The second will occur on October 31 at 8.19 pm.
The first full moon which took place earlier this month was called ‘Harvest Moon’. This full moon shone till late in the night which in earlier times used to help farmers to harvest their summer agricultural produce beyond midnight.
The last time it happened in a month with 30 days was on June 30, 2007 and the next one will be on September 30, 2050. There were two Blue Moons in 2018, the first on January 31 and the second on March 31.
A lunar month comprises 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 38 seconds. To have two full moons in a month, the first one should take place on the first or second day of the month. Whenever a Blue Moon occurs, the total number of full moons for that particular year becomes 13, which usually remains 12 under normal circumstances. The phrase ‘once in a blue moon’, used to describe a rare occurrence, was first used in the early 16th century to indicate something absurd. The earliest reference to a Blue Moon as ‘the third full moon in a season of four full moons’ was found in the Maine Farmers’ Almanac, published in the late 1930s.
