{"id":608142,"date":"2026-05-28T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608142\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T08:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T08:31:12","slug":"how-to-catch-this-weeks-rare-blue-moon-event-%e2%80%95-that-wont-happen-again-until-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/608142\/","title":{"rendered":"How to catch this week\u2019s rare blue moon event \u2015 that won\u2019t happen again until 2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A rare blue moon<\/a> and four planets<\/a> will shine together in the night sky<\/a> this weekend – the final instance of such an event until 2028, forecaster AccuWeather<\/a> says.<\/p>\n

The moon<\/a> will rise on Saturday night and be visible through Sunday morning throughout the country, peaking at 4:45 a.m. EDT.<\/p>\n

Skywatchers may also be able to catch a glimpse of Mars, Saturn, Venus and Jupiter, if they\u2019re lucky.<\/p>\n

While some of the planets have been seen near the moon this month, the blue moon is what makes this event so rare. <\/p>\n

A blue moon – which sadly is not actually blue-colored – rises only every two or three years.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople stand at North Avenue Beach in Chicago, Illinois, as the the super blue moon rises in August 2023. A blue moon will overnight this weekend (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Why so blue?<\/p>\n

This type of moon earns its special name because of its remarkable timing. <\/p>\n

The blue moon is the second of two full moons a month or the third of three full moons in a season with four, according to NASA<\/a>. This blue moon follows the May 1 flower moon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moon’s cycle is 29.5 days, so just a bit shorter than the average length of a calendar month. Eventually that gap results in a full moon happening at the beginning of a month with enough days still remaining for another full cycle \u2015 so a second full moon in the same month,\u201d the space agency explained.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis NASA graphic images shows the phases of the moon in May. The full moon is a blue moon (NASA\/JPL-Caltech)<\/p>\n

That can mean a full moon on the first or second day of the month is followed by a second full moon on the 30th or 31st day. <\/p>\n

To make matters even more complex, there\u2019s also a seasonal blue moon. <\/p>\n

A seasonal blue moon occurs when there are four full moons in a single season, instead of the usual three. The third of those moons is a blue moon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis definition is older and comes from traditional almanac usage,\u201d says Seth McGowan, president of the Adirondack Sky Center in Tupper Lake, New York, told National Geographic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The next seasonal blue moon will take place on May 20, 2027, and the next blue moon will rise in December 2028, according to Time and Date<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The last blue moon was in August 2023, AccuWeather notes. It was a supermoon, a full moon at its closest distance to Earth during its orbit. August 2024 saw a seasonal blue supermoon.<\/p>\n

\"AA rare blue supermoon appears in the night sky over Sydney, Australia, in August 2024. While the blue moon isn\u2019t actually a blue hue, NASA says particles can make it appear blue (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

But can the moon ever actually look blue? <\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible! Particles in the air from smoke or dust can scatter away red wavelengths of light, causing the moon to appear blue.<\/p>\n

Size matters<\/p>\n

Still, the blue moon isn\u2019t the only interesting part of this weekend\u2019s celestial spectacle.<\/p>\n

For one, this blue moon and the flower moon are what are known as micromoons. A micromoon occurs when the moon is at its farthest distance from Earth during the month, appearing to be smaller than usual when we see it from Earth.<\/p>\n

June\u2019s full strawberry moon will also be a micromoon.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo people watch the August 2023 blue moon rise in Chicago, Illinois. People should avoid light pollution for the clearest view of the night sky (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Venus and Jupiter can be seen in the western sky about an hour after sunset, as they inch close together. The best time to see them is 30-45 minutes after sunset, FOX Weather<\/a> says.<\/p>\n

Make sure to stay away from light pollution and use a telescope or a camera for a closer look.<\/p>\n

Early risers may be able to catch a glimpse of Mars and Saturn in the eastern sky, too. You should get up around 45-60 minutes before sunrise to spot them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1813,11237,90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-608142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-astronomy","tag-horizontal","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}