Were you looking up in the sky last night to see the Full Moon? It’s the first Summer Blue Moon that we’ve seen in 5 years, and there won’t be another Summer Full Blue Moon until August 30th-31st, 2023 (2nd Full Moon of that Month), and August 19th, 2024 (3rd Full Moon of that Month). We were lucky enough to see a Spring Blue Moon on May 18th, 2019 and a Fall Blue Moon on October 31th, 2020 but this Summer Blue Moon is a very special one.
You would have been delighted to see this Full Blue Moon in all its glory along with Venus near the western horizon, early in the night, as well as Jupiter and Saturn shining brightly from dusk until dawn.
When we usually hear about Blue Moons, it’s because during one calendar month there are (3) Full Moons due to the Moon cycle of 29.5 days. However, every three years or so we’ll have a Season where based on when the Full Moon appears, we will have a (4th) Full Moon.
The term Blue Moon or Once in a Blue Moon as it’s also referred to, is due to it’s rarity, not because the Moon is Blue in colour. However, a traditional definition of a Blue Moon is the (3rd) Full Moon in any Season where there are (4) Full Moons. Meaning what exactly. Our Summer 2021 Season starts on June 20th and ends on September 22nd. We are having (4) Full Moons this Summer Season, and the third one of last night, August 22nd, was called a Blue Moon.
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the August Full Moon is known as the Full Sturgeon Moon as the sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain are said to be most readily caught during this Full Moon. The Algonquin and First Nations people, call this Moon the Corn Moon when the Full Moon is close to September or in that actual month.
I always recommend looking up towards the night sky whenever possible. Seeing the Moon shining so brightly with the millions of Stars surrounding it, brings me back into balance and reminds me of how small we actually are in our galaxy.