Ready for a rare treat this weekend? The Halloween sky will be glowing brightly with a full moon — the second full moon to appear in October 2020 and the first full Halloween moon to shine in all U.S. time zones in 76 years.
Its distinction as the second full moon in the same calendar month makes this a “blue moon,” even though it will sport its same whitish-yellow color as usual.
The last time all U.S. time zones were treated to a full moon on Halloween was in 1944, according to the Farmers' Almanac. More recently, a full moon lit up the sky on Halloween night in 2001, but only in the Central and Pacific time zones.
How rare is a blue moon on Halloween?
Turns out a blue moon on Halloween is as rare as any full moon on Halloween. NASA space expert Tony Rice says a Halloween full moon has to be a blue moon, because moon cycles are about 29.5 days and Halloween always falls on Oct. 31.
So, if there’s a full moon on Oct. 31, it has to be the second full moon of the month — making it a blue moon.
Astronomy experts say this happens about once every 19 years, but sometimes the moon’s cycle of phases brings a full moon early on Nov. 1 instead of on Oct. 31. When that occurs, a Halloween full moon is seen only once every 38 years.
In any case, it is a rare treat and it adds an eerie backdrop to this fun and scary holiday.
A rare full moon will add an eerie backdrop to Halloween 2020 in every time zone in the United States.Pixabay
By the way, the moon will officially be at its fullest phase at 10:49 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday, Oct. 31. So it will be completely full when it rises in the east-northeastern sky at 6:13 p.m. in the New York City region.
As of now, the National Weather Service is calling for partly cloudy skies in the Big Apple and partly cloudy skies in northern and central New Jersey Saturday night. That equates to mostly clear — a nice little treat from Mother Nature.
Down in South Jersey, the forecast currently calls for mostly cloudy skies Saturday night, but sky watchers there still might catch a glimpse of the full Halloween moon.
After Oct. 31, 2020, the next Halloween full moon will appear in 2039, 2058, 2077 and 2096, according to the Farmers' Almanac. That means the Halloween full moon will be on the 19-year cycle five straight times.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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