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A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month. As it turns out, there’s a second kind that’s even more unusual – a seasonal blue moon. There will be one Sunday, Aug. 22. It’s only the fifth seasonal blue moon since 2010 and the first in more than two years.
A season is defined as the time between a solstice and an equinox, and if there are four full moons during that quarter of the year, the third full moon is called a seasonal blue moon.
The official full moon on Aug. 22 is at 6:02 a.m. MDT.
Many full moons have names associated with Native American history and lore. The August full moon is often called the Sturgeon Moon because of the large number of fish in the lakes where the Algonquin tribes fished. Other names are the Green Corn Moon, Barley Moon, Fruit Moon and Grain Moon from Old English/Anglo-Saxon.
The seasonal blue moon apparently traces its origins to an edition of the Maine Farmers Almanac published in 1937. Using the term blue moon for the second full moon in a calendar month may have originated in an article in the March 1946 edition of “Sky & Telescope” magazine. Visit skyandtelescope.org/observing/once-in-a-blue-moon to read more about it. The article says National Public Radio’s January 1980 Star Date program popularized use of the term.
The Harvest Moon, which is the full moon nearest (either before or after) the fall equinox, is Sept. 20. It’s officially full at 5:55 p.m. MDT. The fall equinox occurs at 1:21 p.m. MDT Wednesday, Sept. 22.
