The full moon in the sky tonight is the first time a full moon has occurred on Halloween in Ireland since 1955, and another one isn't expected again on the spookiest night of the year until 2039.
"The Oct. 31 full moon also happens to be a 'Blue Moon, ' a designation for the second full moon to occur in a single calendar month".
Shining over the trick-or-treat nights that were not canceled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic and those that were not canceled but then rescheduled as the remnants of a tropical storm deluged the area with rain Thursday into today will be a full blue moon. However, that isn't usually the case - except for this year.
The first full moon, called a "Harvest Moon", rose on October 1. There are roughly 29.5 days between full moons, making it unusual for two full moons to fit into a 30- or 31-day-long month. Therefore, to have two full moons in a month, the first full moon should take place on 1st or 2nd of the month. The origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain - a civilisation that lived almost 2,000 years ago - during which people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off the spirits.
This is the first time a Halloween blue moon will be visible to all time zones since 1944. Halloween comes every year, but this year it's definitely 'once in a blue moon'.
Despite its name, the moon will not look blue, but its usual white glow. However, very rarely there are actual blue-tinted Moons due to particles thrown into the atmosphere by natural catastrophes.
The Blue Moon coming up is respectively known as the Hunter's Moon. But Reid says you will still be able to see the moon on Halloween night in Toronto. Called a seasonal blue moon, this occurs about every 2.5 years.
That obsession with the moon goes back to Celtic traditions and the early Christian All Hallows Day celebrated on November 1.
A micromoon, opposite to a supermoon, is when the moon is at its furthest point from Earth.
