Spoiler alert!
The full blue moon you can delight in seeing the next few nights won't actually be blue.
The blue moon is so named from a satirical poem from 1528 called 'Read Me and Be Not Angry' that contains the line: If you say the moon is blue, we must believe that it is true.
It's meant to be farcical, far-fetched and impossible, just like the statement 'the moon is made of cheese'.
A full moon -- round and white -- can resemble a round, white glob of fresh cheese.
Anyway, to confuse the issue a bit, a full moon can appear bluish if smoke, dust and ash from a volcanic eruption or forest fire are in the air.
But, for viewing the full blue moon in British Columbia tonight and tomorrow night, it will look much like any other full moon -- bright and white in the night sky.
The full blue moon peaks at 1:45 am Sunday, May 31.
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If you'll be sleeping then, as most of us will be, you can simply view the full blue moon anytime of night over the next few nights.
In fact, often the best time to spy a full moon is shortly after sunset when the moon rises above the horizon and appears dramatically low and large.
This full blue moon is called a micro full moon because it can appear up to 7% smaller than an average full moon.
That's because it happens during 'apogee' -- the point when the moon's orbit is farthest from Earth at 405,000 kilometres instead of the usual 382,500 kilometres.
A blue moon is as entrenched in the science of astronomy as it is in folklore.
A blue moon is also the name given to the second full moon in any calendar month.
The full flower moon was on May 1.
Two full moons in a single month happens every two-and-a-half to 3 years based on the lunar (moon) cycle being 29.5 days and months having 30 or 31 days.
Its rarity led to the coining of the popular phrase 'once in a blue moon'.
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Blue moon can now add another cultural reference to its repertoire.
This year, a movie called 'Blue Moon' was released following the last days in 1943 of Broadway musical lyricist Lorenz Hart, played by actor Ethan Hawke.
Hart collaborated with Richard Rodgers on musicals, but was dumped by Rodgers in favour of Oscar Hammerstein II, thus creating the long-standing famous team of Rodgers and Hammerstein that launched in 1943 with Oklahoma!
'Blue Moon' was also the 1934 hit song written by Rodgers and Hart that has become a famous jazz standard.
Anyway, with all that infomation, you can gaze skyward over the next few nights and marvel at the full blue moon.
Enjoy!
By the way, the next full moon will be June 29th's strawberry moon.
