The moon on Halloween occurs only once in a blue moon
By Emily Proctor
Sky gazers of the Netherlands - get ready! 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 - the second full moon of the month!
October 2020 in the Netherlands: Catch a glimpse of a rare Blue Moon
Just to be clear - and to avoid any potential disappointments on October 31 - a Blue Moon is not actually blue. Also, while the term used to refer to the third full moon out of four in a full season, the name is now applied to a different lunar phenomenon. Blue Moon is instead the name given to the second full moon in a month that is lucky enough to feature two.
October 1 saw a beautiful full “Harvest Moon”, which will be followed by the “Hunter’s Moon” on October 31. The Hunter’s Moon will also be the smallest full moon of the year because it has an oval-shaped orbit, making October’s Blue Moon the furthest full moon from Earth in 2020!
According to NASA, Blue Moon occurrences are pretty rare. Normally, there's approximately 29,5 days between full moons - giving rise to the phrase, "Once in a blue moon."
2020 is a special year for lunar phenomena
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 the Netherlands, as long as the weather plays ball - so get dressed up, embrace the season and look out for werewolves!
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