Let’s talk about a Black and Blue Moon, and no it’s not bruised.

What You Need To Know

  • The color of the moon doesn’t actually turn black or blue

  • A Blue Moon is the third full moon out of 4 in a season or the second full moon in a calendar month

  • A Black Moon follows the same guidelines as a Blue Moon, but it’s for the new moon phase.

  • They both usually happen once every 2 to 3 years

The Moon has eight phases: New moon, Waxing Crescent, 1st Quarter (half moon phase), Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon Phase, Waning Gibbous, 3rd Quarter (half moon phase), and Waning Crescent. 

It takes about a month to complete all the phases, and there are three months in every season.  So, we would generally expect three full moons each season.

The Blue Moon

Every once in a while, there will be four full moons in a season. When this happens, the third full moon is called a Blue Moon.    

Rarely, there will be two full moons in a calendar month. The second full moon is also called a Blue Moon. This will actually happen on Halloween this year...perfect timing for the ghosts and goblins.

The Black Moon

Instead of having four full moons in a season, having four, new moons in a season gets you a Black Moon. Just like the Blue Moon criteria, the 3rd new moon of the four is officially called the Black moon.

Also, the 2nd new moon in a calendar month is called Black Moon. It isn’t visible since we can’t see the new moon phase (unless it’s a solar eclipse when it could look red or orange).  

The next seasonal Black Moon is August 18, 2020.