A Rare Full Blue Moon Will Rise Over Canada On Halloween & It'll Be Spooky
This will be spooky! There's going to be a full blue moon on Halloween and it'll rise in the night sky all across Canada on October 31. It's such a rare sight that it hasn't happened across the country since 1944.
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What is a blue moon?
According to the Farmers' Almanac, whenever there are two full moons in one month, the second one is called a blue moon.
That happens about every two and a half to three years.
The name is also given to the third full moon when there are four of them in a season.
This year, the full moon on October 31 fits both of those definitions since it's the second in the month and the third in the fall season which gives it the unique name.
Also, whenever the moon becomes full on Halloween, it technically has to be a blue moon because the lunar cycle is only 29.5 days long.
Will it actually be blue?
If you were hoping to look up in the night sky and actually see the moon shining blue, that won't be the case.
The word is just used to note that it's rare.
However, the moon can actually look blue sometimes according to The Weather Network.
That can happen when there are a lot of particles in the air that are slightly wider than the wavelength of red light.
A hue like that can be caused by volcanic eruptions and forest fires.
While this full moon on Halloween won't be blue in colour, it's still something pretty unique to see.
Why is a full blue moon on Halloween rare?
Most people probably can't tell the difference when the moon is 98% or 100% full and that can mean it has seemed full on other Halloween nights throughout the years.
However, it hasn't actually become full across the country, in all time zones on the spooky holiday since 1944.
That's 76 years ago!
In 2001, it happened in only the Central and Pacific time zones.
A full moon on Halloween usually comes around once every 19 years but after the 20th century, that cycle shifted back a day so that peak fullness was reached on November 1.
With this return to October 31, the full moon is definitely a rare sight.
The next time this will happen is 2039.
After that, the moon will become full on Halloween in 2058, 2077 and 2096.