Have you ever heard of the phrase “Once in a Blue Moon”? Is the Moon really Blue during this moment? Well, Blue Moon does exist and it only happens once in a blue moon, wait what? Now here’s the fact;
A blue moon is expected to be visible in January 31, 2018. This blue moon is like no other because incidentally it will occur during a Super moon which will coincide with a total lunar eclipse. Now this is what we call a once in a blue moon phenomenon.
Now let’s discuss the terminologies to understand further.
• Blue moon – this is the moment when two full moons happen in the same calendar month. The color of the moon is not literally blue but may occur in certain atmospheric conditions like volcanic eruptions and such.
• Supermoon – this happens when the moon’s perigee coincides with a full moon.
• Perigee – the moon’s closest approach to Earth in a single orbit.
• Lunar Eclipse – occurs when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow.
Will the Blue Moon be visible in the Philippines?
Yes, the Blue Moon will be visible in the Philippines on January 31, 2018. The first full moon occurred in the second day of January 2018.
It was said that one of the causes why the moon will have a color blue is due to volcanic eruptions. This is because the dust from the volcanic eruption goes in the air which scatter red light and acted as a filter causing the moon to turn green or blue.
It was also recorded in the past years that the blue moon was witnessed after the eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia in the year 1883 and in 1980 during the eruption of Mt. St. Helen. The Blue Moon also occurred during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. It does make sense since the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines erupted a few days ago.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon
https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/philippines/manila
https://www.space.com/39208-super-blue-blood-moon-guide.html
https://www.space.com/15455-blue-moon.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-blue-moon-2012-8