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A rare seasonal “Blue Moon” wowed sky watchers on Sunday (August 22), marking the last time this type of moon will adorn the sky until 2023.
The full moon, also known as the “Sturgeon Moon”, was not called blue for its color. Rather, it is a scheduling rule that occurs in a calendar year with 13 full moons, instead of the usual 12.
If four full moons fall in a season, it is called a blue moon. A more recent definition also defines a blue moon as the second full moon in a month, but this definition did not apply to the Sunday sky show.
Whatever its name, the moon has wowed sky-watchers on multiple continents, as an informal Twitter survey shows below.
Related: The full moon in August 2021 is a blue moon. Here’s why.
Full moon today (August 22) 🌕🔭🔵Moonrise at Stonehenge is at 8:48 p.m., moonset was at 5:26 a.m. #Esturgeon #BlueMoon #Fullmoon pic.twitter.com/CTeNlCdLEOAugust 22, 2021
Tonight’s sunrise #BlueMoon peeks through the clouds to briefly crown UK’s tallest spire pic.twitter.com/nxnimUystlAugust 21, 2021
Tonight’s moon rises over Round Lake in the Ottawa Valley. #bluemoon pic.twitter.com/zH3URXTz5b23 Aug 2021
Moonrise tonight 😍😍 I’m so excited to see the sky clear again 🔭✨🌙 #Moon #SturgeonMoon #BlueMoon #Cornwall #Clearskies #Luna #Astrophotography pic.twitter.com/nLFzeFwlvfAugust 22, 2021
Every once in a while, in a blue moon or so, I’m able to film a #BlueMoon from the helicopter … like I did tonight over Los Angeles. Good evening! @CBSLA # Sky2 # Sky9 #FullMoon pic.twitter.com/Uyq8kKSqqq23 Aug 2021
Full moon in August and Jupiter in Los Angeles. #bluemoon pic.twitter.com/A3AkqBzqxWAugust 22, 2021
It will be another two years before another Blue Moon appears, although that again depends on which definition you prefer to use.
If you use the “two full moons in one month rule,” according to skywatching columnist Joe Rao, the next blue moon will also come in August – August 30, 2023 to be exact.
But if you prefer the other definition that says the Blue Moon is the fourth full moon in a single season, it won’t happen again until another August: August 19, 2024.
Fortunately, the next full moon will arrive much sooner than that. The Corn Moon is expected to peak on September 20, with further full moons in 2021 on November 19 and December 18.
Editor’s Note: If you have an amazing photo or video of the night sky that you would like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik at [email protected].
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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