Schedule yourself to see the phenomenon of the ‘blue moon’ from Colombia this Halloween night

This October 31, during the celebration of Halloween, the sky will feature a rare phenomenon: the “blue moon,” a cosmic event that will not be repeated during Halloween until the year 2039.

Although the name that has been given to this phenomenon of blue moon generates a lot of mysticism around it, the reality is that, during this date, the moon will not change to a blue hue, simply It is known by this name because it will be the second full moon that appears in the same month.

“Usually, the months only have one full moon, but sometimes a second one sneaks in. The full phases are 29 days apart, while most months are 30 or 31 days long, so it is possible to fit two full moons in a single month. This occurs every two and a half years on average”, Explained the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

On the Nasa portal, the agency also explained that this phenomenon does not affect the color of the moon at all, and that, in fact, “most blue moons look pale and white, just like the moon we see. on any other night. “

The explanation for this cosmic event lies in the Metonic cycle, named after the Greek Meton of Athens, who discovered the lunar cycle. In this, It takes 19 years for the orbits of the Earth and the Moon to coincide at the same point, and that is why a blue moon will not be seen again during Halloween until 2039, 2058 or 2077.

The Moon will be fully illuminated on this date and can be seen throughout the night anywhere in the world, so you do not need any specific instrument to see it. Preferably, it is better to be in a place with dark skies, that is, where there is not so much light pollution to be able to appreciate it in its full splendor.

According to the Royal Museums Greenwich organization, the best time to observe the Moon from Colombia will be at 7:49 pm, since it will be at that time when the Sun and Moon are completely aligned on each side of the Earth.

According to the space agency, the origin of the name of this phenomenon arose in the 1940s when the Maine Farmer’s Almanac, the most reliable source regarding climate events for 200 years, offered a very confusing definition of what the ‘Blue Moon’, as it involved factors such as ecclesiastical dates such as Easter and Quarantine.

“In order to explain the phenomenon of the Blue Moon, in simple terms, Sky & Telescope magazine published an article in 1946 entitled” Once for Every Blue Moon. “The author, James Hugh Pruett, cited the 1937 Maine Almanac and he opined that the “second full Moon in a month, according to my interpretation, is called the Blue Moon”, and that is how the modern blue Moon was born, explained NASA.

Are there blue moons?

According to NASA, the Moon can be seen in a blue hue, but for this to happen it generally requires a volcanic eruption.

The space agency explains that, in 1883, after the Indonesian Krakatoa volcano erupted “with the force of a 100-megaton nuclear bomb,” blue moons were seen almost every night.

“This was due to the ash from the volcano. Some of the plumes were filled with particles 1 micron wide, which is roughly equal to the wavelength of red light. Particles of this special size are ideal for scattering red light, while allowing blue light to pass through. In this way, the Krakatoa clouds acted as a blue filter“Explained NASA on its website.

In 1983, after the explosion of the El Chichón volcano in Mexico, according to the space agency, moons with blue tones were also recorded. Likewise, it was reported that this phenomenon was seen after the eruptions of Mount Santa Helena, in the United States in 1980, and that of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippine Islands in 1991.

NASA also stated that forest fires can also cause the same event. An example of this was the forest fires in the swamps of Alberta, Canada in 1953.

“Smoke clouds containing micrometer-sized oil droplets produced lavender-colored suns and bluish moons that extended from North America to England,” the space agency states on its website.