There's Nothing 'Blue' About Friday's Full Moon
KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.
Q: Hey Roberta, did you see the full moon this morning? Isn't it a "Blue Moon". Stan Lewis; Brentwood
A: Yes, I did! But for the record, the moon today is a 98% waxing gibbous, so not yet entirely full!
Tonight overnight, the moon will be full. This will be the second full moon in a calendar month. When two full moons happen in one month, it is called, a "Blue Moon". This rarely happens, thus the saying "once in a blue moon" is used to describe a rare event. For example, "once in a Blue Moon the Chicago Cubs win the World Series".
The last time we were able to see a Blue Moon in the Bay Area was: August 2012
The next time will be: January 31, 2018
The Moon is not actually blue in its appearance during a 'Blue Moon". In fact, this morning the moon was gorgeous and a rust color in appearance, all because of current fires burning and the smoke in the air. We refer to the smoke as "particulate matter" or PM, which is a pollutant. Odd to think a pollutant could make the moon look so pretty.
So do you plan on viewing tonight's "Blue Moon"? Well, there is a bit of a problem. Mostly Cloudy skies are in the forecast.
I would love to hear from you! Please send weather questions, observations and photos to me, Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com and I look forward to hearing from you!
