Hyderabad: The second full moon in current month , referred in western folklore as “Blue Moon’ will appear in the sky on October 31.
In a press statement here today Planetary Society of India (PSI) , director N. Raghunandan Kumar today said, in October month of 2020 , Moon will appear in its Total Phase (full Moon) for two times. First it was on October 2 and Second Full Moon is visible on October 31. This second full moon in month is referred in western folklore as Blue Moon, He added.
Raghunandan said generally in Calendar year at least one Full Moon is visible in the sky every month. However sometimes, rarely, that is once in every 2-3 years or 2.715 years on average two full moons appear in the same month. Hence in the western folklore metaphorically to describe the rarity of this occurrence of second full moon (like on October 31) in a month is popularly referred to as Blue Moon.
Hence the world Blue Moon is not coined or recognized by International Astronomical Union (IAU) the highest body responsible for Astronomy but in culture or language, he said.
