Claim: Was the moon really blue last week?

Question

There was a “Blue Moon” last week and many social outlets were talking about this and was saying this phenomenon won’t happen again until 2037. I was wondering if the moon would actually appear blue in the sky or if this was something being said to gain more viewers. Many of those outlets and people were making this a huge thing and were hyping it up, but was the outcome really anticipated?

Comments

Yes, there was a "blue moon" last week, but the definition of "blue moon" does not directly refer to the color of the moon. The moon rose on August 30, and the term comes from the saying "once in a blue moon." You can find more information in the link below.

https://www.space.com/15455-blue-moon.html

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Strong, succinct fact-check. Going forward, rather than "comment" on the claim, please "answer" it and rate it. Then your answer can be upvoted/chosen as the best answer. Thanks!

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I have already answered this question and provided a rating down below. It was doubled posted accidentally as an answer and comment. Thanks!

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I saw that afterwards. :) Thanks for re-doing it as an answer. Great work, again!

Answer 1

There was a blue moon last week and it is a big deal however it's not what everyone thinks it is. A blue moon by definition is the third full moon in a season that has four full moons. This means it happens once every few years, with the next one likely being in August of 2024. So while there was a blue moon, it was blown out of proportion and the next one being over a decade away is false.

https://www.space.com/15455-blue-moon.html

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/blue-moon#:~:text=(But%20the%20next%20Blue%20Moon,2032%3B%20May%2022%2C%202035.