Get Ready For A Full Blue Moon! The Facts!

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:01][music] >> James Copman on his report today.

[00:00:08]Get ready for a full blue moon, the facts.

[00:00:12]Get ready for some rare blue moonlight.

[00:00:16]On Sunday, May 31st, skywatchers will witness a blue moon rising over the eastern horizon.

[00:00:26]Just step outside around sunset and spin around to face east and there it will be.

[00:00:35]The moon can actually appear blue but don't expect any color change tomorrow.

[00:00:42]This is a calendar blue moon.

[00:00:45]The second full moon within a single calendar month.

[00:00:50]May 2026 opened with a full moon at the start of the month and now closes with another full moon.

[00:00:59]The phenomena happens every two or three years and does not alter the moon's natural colors.

[00:01:07]Low-hanging blue moons are typically orange, not blue.

[00:01:13]While overhead blue moons are the gray shades of moon rock.

[00:01:19]Yes, blue moons are real and can actually appear blue under the proper circumstances.

[00:01:27]Although rare, true blue moons require unusual atmospheric conditions caused by forest fires and volcanoes.

[00:01:38]When the air is loaded with smoky particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light, about 1 micron across, those particles preferentially scatter red wavelengths while letting blue light pass through.

[00:01:55]The result, a completely blue moon, or a moon that appears genuinely blue.

[00:02:02]Following the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, observers reported blue moons for nearly 2 years.

[00:02:12]The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens produced them as well, as did the '91 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

[00:02:23]Smoke from wildfires in Western Canada in September of 1950 turned moons blue across all of North America and Europe for weeks.

[00:02:34]Tomorrow, step outside and look up. The moon will be full, bright, and barring a volcanic calamity or large forest fire, stubbornly, the moon will be silver in color, not blue.

[00:02:49]But, blue moonlight is expected anyway.

[00:02:54]Again, this should and can be viewed just after sunset. So, many people should be able to enjoy this.

[00:03:04]With that said, please give us a thumbs up. Please share, and remember that anything's possible in Bizarro World.