The rare super blue moon of Monday is a dazzling statistical wonder

How common is it? It depends on whom you are asking. However, it’s safe to say that Monday’s full moon will be memorable.

 

A rare sky spectacle will occur Monday night that (probably) won’t happen again for years: A full moon that can be called both a supermoon and blue moon will grace the night skies over the U.S.

Affectionately referred to as”a “super blue moon,” the rare event occurs in the event that the different supermoons and blue moons coincide with the calendar, according to NASA’s Noah Petro, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter scientist in charge of the project..

If all that’s confusing enough Astronomers also have different definitions of what is a supermoon, and what qualifies as the blue moon. (Just last year, a full moon fulfilled the requirements for both according to certain criteria.)

This is why the full moon on Monday is special:

Is a Supermoon a moon?

If the moon’s orbit takes close to Earth than normal this cosmic phenomenon is referred to as supermoon. Supermoons occur when the moon’s orbit is closer to Earth while the moon is at its fullest. The term was invented by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979.

“Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon,” NASA stated. “Because the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle, the moon is sometimes closer to the Earth than at other times during its orbit.”

As the moon approaches the closest point on Earth around 226,000 miles away, the full moons appear brighter and larger than other time. A supermoon appears 30 percent bigger and brighter than a normal full moon.

What is a blue-moon?

There are two kinds of blue moons, the seasonal one and also monthly. One Monday is that of the seasonal variety.

A blue moon that is seasonal is when there four full moons within one season (on this particular occasion, it is summer). If this occurs the third moon of the four moons is considered to be to be a blue moon.

The second definition, resulted from a misinterpretation of the source term – is that of the blue moon of the month, meaning that second moon full of one calendar month.

In any event blue moons have earned their fame for being scarce due to a lapse within the regular pattern of a full moon each month.

The moon’s phase lasts 29.5 days. However as Missouri State University professor of Astrophysics Mike Reed notes, months can include 28-29 or 30 days.

The two cycles cause strange mismatches that result in a moon that is larger the month or season than normal – this is the blue moon.

Months typically have one full moon, unless there’s an (monthly) blue moon. Seasons typically include three full moons except for an (seasonal) blue moon.

Additionally the full moon on Monday is not likely to appear blue, but Blue-colored moons in photos typically created using blue-specific filters for cameras or photo editing software.

How common is an super-blue moon? When is the next super blue moon scheduled to occur?

“It’s tricky to answer, because it depends on your definition of a supermoon and a blue moon,” Edward Bloomer, senior astronomy manager at the U.K. The Royal Observatory Greenwich told USA Today via email.

The answer varies based the type of moon you’re talking about the blue moon of a season or a lunar blue moon. If you change the definition of supermoon, then the answer shifts.

In general the blue moon occurs about every two to three years according to NASA. The interval between blue moons with superblue blood may be as long as 20 years. However, generally it’s 10 years on the standard.

When is the next blue moon going to happen?

A safe bet is January 2037, according to NASA.

But, based on what you define as super blue moons, you might hear about another moon rising prior to that.