Rare blue moon to light up UAE skies tonight

Skywatchers are all set to watch a rare blue moon on August 22. Like the proverbial phrase “once in a blue moon”, this phenomenon is also a very rare occurrence.

The moon will be exactly full (that is, directly opposite the Sun) on August 22. People in the UAE will be able to see a nearly full moon tonight. This year’s blue moon will glow next to Jupiter. The next one will be visible in August 2024.

WHAT IS A BLUE MOON? A blue moon is the third full moon in a season containing four full moons, rather than the usual three, according to Sky & Telescope magazine. Such an event happens about once every 2.7 years on average. According to NASA, there are two kinds of blue moons: monthly and seasonal.

A monthly blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month with two full moons. There's also a seasonal blue moon. It's the third full moon of an astronomical season that has four full moons. NASA has reported the first recorded use of ‘blue moon’ in 1528.

HOW OFTEN DOES A BLUE MOON HAPPEN? A ‘true’ blue moon is rare and happens when the cycle of lunar phases causes the full moon to occur within a few days after an equinox or solstice. The last full moon was in February 2019, and the next after August 22, 2021, will be in August 2023. Sometimes a calendar month gets two full moons. For example, there were two blue moons in 2018: January 31 and March 31.

The full blue moon, which happens about once every 2.7 years on average, won't necessarily appear blue. That only happens even more rarely, when "volcanic eruptions or forest fires send lots of smoke and fine dust into the atmosphere," according to Sky & Telescope.

ALTERNATIVE NAMES Other names for this full moon include Green Corn Moon, Berry Moon, Summer Moon, etc. The Hopi people call it the ‘moon of joyful.” Also, there can never be a blue moon in the month of February because full moons occur 29.5 days apart.

The 'Blue Sturgeon Moon' will be best seen at moonrise. Here are the timings of moonrise across the emirates.

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