ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Because there was a full moon on the very first day of October, we'll see something we won’t see again until 2039: a Full Moon on Halloween.
A Halloween Full Moon occurs for any one location about every 19 years, or once about every two decades.
If you have a 5-year-old child or grandchild, they’ll be in their mid-20s the next time we see the completely illuminated moon on Halloween night. Now that’s scary!
Like all Halloween Full Moons, it is also a ‘Blue Moon’ on October 31. The moon won’t have a blue color. A Blue Moon is simply a second Full Moon of a calendar month.
This occurs, on average, about every two or three years. In 2018 unusually, we had two Blue Moons in one year and only two months apart – and one was a lunar eclipse! The next time we will get two Blue Moons in a year will be 2037. If a season has four full moons, then the third full moon may also be called a Blue Moon.
The phrase “Once in a Blue Moon” comes from this occurrence. Since a Blue Moon doesn’t happen often, it’s used to describe other rare events.
Of course, Halloween 2020 wouldn’t be happy with just a Blue Moon. Halloween night also the night we move the clock back one hour before bed, starting Daylight Saving Time.
Yes, an extra hour of sleep is in store for everyone Halloween night, plus a 5:45 p.m. sunset the next day.
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