Tonight a full moon will rise over our area, but it's not just any full moon. This is a blue moon! It’s also a supermoon and in fact, the first of four full supermoons in a row. You've probably heard the expression "once in a blue moon" meaning it happens very rarely. That's this same phenomenon.
Is A Blue Moon Even Rare?Â
It turns out there are two meanings to a "blue moon". A blue moon, is an additional full moon in a period - but which period? A season or a month? There are actually two definitions due to a misunderstanding!Â
Originally, the term "Blue Moon" referred to the third full Moon in a season that has four full Moons. The earliest known reference to a Blue Moon in the English language is the phrase "... the mone is blewe ..." from a pamphlet published in 1528. Some writers speculate that "blue" came from "belewe," the phrase meant "Betrayer Moon," and that the name referred to how an extra Moon in a season confused or "betrayed" the dates for Lent and Easter.
The second meaning of the term "blue moon" that refers to a second full moon in a month, but it's a more recent development, originating in 1946.
Tonight's blue moon is a seasonal blue moon, but it won't actually look blue to your eyes.  It will just look like an ordinary full moon. The next seasonal blue moon like the one that occurs tonight will not happen again until May 20, 2027, and then again on August 24, 2029. If you take a picture of the blue moon, send it to us on social media. You may see your photo used on WDRB News!Â
