August Will Be a Blue Moon Month

The month of August brings with it two full moons. The first one visible on 1 August and then followed on 31 august. When two full moons occur within a calendar month, the second full moon is called a "Blue Moon."

The phrase "once in the blue moon" was first noted in 1824 and refers to occurrences that are uncommon.

The occurrence of blue moon in August, raises questions about the cosmic event. The only factor that differentiates this full moon with the other full moon is that the moon can change color in certain conditions. It might appear reddish especially during eclipses. Normally there are 12 fully lit, or full, moons per year. A season of three months should therefore contain three full moons.

A blue moon occurs on an average of 2.7 years. The moon can appear blue when ash is present in the atmosphere from fires or volcanic eruptions. And it is difficult to predict this type of Blue Moon in advance. It was in the year 1999 that such an event occurred twice in a span of just three months.

However, there is an exception: for those living in the Kamchatka region of the Russian Far East as well as in New Zealand, that same full moon occurs after midnight, on the calendar date of Sept. 1. So in these regions of world, this will not be the second of two full moons in August, but the first of two full moons in September. 

The origin of 'blue moon rule' remained a mystery for quite some time. NASA says the key to a blue moon is having in the air lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micron)--and no other sizes present.  This is rare, but volcanoes sometimes spit out such clouds, as do forest fires.

It will be in 2015 that one can get to see the same event.