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Rare ‘blue moon’ to rise Sunday night. (Hint: It’s not actually blue)

The nearly full moon sets behind the mountains of Maine’s Baxter State Park at dawn in April 2001. A rare “blue moon” — in this case, the third full moon in a season with four full moons — will rise Sunday night, experts say.
The nearly full moon sets behind the mountains of Maine’s Baxter State Park at dawn in April 2001. A rare “blue moon” — in this case, the third full moon in a season with four full moons — will rise Sunday night, experts say. Robert F. Bukaty Associated Press file

A rare “blue moon” will rise Sunday night across the United States, but not for the usual reasons.

The phrase normally refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, Space reported. That’s not happening this time.

Instead, this blue moon goes back to the original meaning of the phrase: The third full moon in a season with four full moons, Sky & Telescope reported. Some people call it a “true” blue moon.

There are normally three full moons in each of the four seasons.

“The Moon will not actually appear blue in color,” cautions NASA, which notes the phrase blue moon dates back to 1528.

The more popular reference to two full moons in the same month dates back to the 1940s, according to NASA.

The August full moon is also known as the Sturgeon Moon, after the fish of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain that are more easily caught during this season, The Old Farmer’s Almanac reported.

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Don Sweeney
The Sacramento Bee
916-321-1028
Don Sweeney has been a newspaper reporter and editor in California for more than 35 years. He is a service reporter based at The Sacramento Bee.
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