October 2020 will be remembered as a “Blue Moon Month”, with the last day of October set to showcase a stunning full moon on Halloween night - an unusual lunar spectacle.
Just to be clear - and to avoid any potential disappointments on October 31 - a Blue Moon is not actually blue... What it is, however, is the second full moon that is visible in the space of one month.
According to NASA, these Blue Moon occurrences are rare, as there are usually around 29,5 days between full moons, giving rise to the phrase, "Once in a blue moon." Historically, the term “Blue Moon” referred to the third full moon out of four in a full season, but in recent years the meaning of the phrase has changed.
October 1, 2020 saw a beautiful full “Harvest Moon”, and will be followed by the “Hunter’s Moon” on October, 31. The Hunter’s Moon will be the smallest full moon of the year.
This is because the moon has an oval-shaped orbit, making October’s Blue Moon the furthest from Earth full moon of 2020!
Adding to the rarity of this special year, there are 13 full moons in 2020, where most years have just 12. We are only lucky enough to get more than 12 full moons every two and a half years.
The Blue Moon will give this Halloween an extra spooky feel, and should be clearly visible above Germany, as long as the weather plays ball - so get dressed up, embrace the season and look out for werewolves!