Halloween may be different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it will feature a truly terrifying sight appearing in the sky: a rare second full moon of October, the well-known blue moon.
The full moon that will be visible on October 31 is called a blue moon because it is the second full moon of the same month. This Halloween will be different because the full moon will be visible across the entire world, and not just in parts of it, for the first time since World War II.
“When I was teaching, my students at school believed there was a full moon every Halloween,” said astronomy teacher and former planetarium director Jeffrey Hunt. The last full moon that was visible all over the world was in 1944, he said. There was also a full moon in 1955 that was visible in some parts of the world, but that didn’t include western North America, Hunt says.
While this year's full moon will be visible from all parts of the planet, that doesn't mean every citizen will be able to see it. Residents of both North and South America will see it, as will Africa, all of Europe and most of Asia. However, in Australia, those living in the west will see it, but those living in the center and east won't be so lucky.
Do you want to see the full blue moon? It will be so bright in its complete phase that it won't matter where you are because it will be visible very clearly.
Don't be surprised, however, if you take a photo of the moon with your phone and the photo has nothing to do with what you just saw, which will certainly be magical.
If you're too busy doing something else, you'll have to wait until 2039 for the next global full moon, so it might be worth trying to see it this year.
