When the moon rises Tuesday night ( Aug, 20 ) , it brings us the August full moon and in addition , it will also technically be a " Blue Moon . "

" But wait a minute , " you may ask. " Isn't a Blue Moon defined as the second full moon that occurs during a calendar month ? Tuesday’s full moon will be the only full moon of August 2013 . So how can we call it a ' Blue ' moon ? "

Yet it still is a Blue Moon , but only if we follow a now somewhat obscure rule of astronomy . In fact , the current " two full moon in one month " rule has superseded the rule that would allow us to call Tuesday’s full moon " blue . "

A Blue Moon : The Almanac moon rule :
           Back in the July 1943 issue of " Sky & Telescope magazine , in a question and answer column written by Lawrence J. Lafleur , there was a reference made to the term " Blue Moon . " Lafleur cited the unusual term from a copy of the 1937 edition of the now-defunct Maine Farmers ’ Almanac ( NOT to be confused with The Farmers ' Almanac which is still published in Lewiston , Maine ) .

" There are seven Blue Moons in a Lunar Cycle of nineteen years , " continued the Almanac , ending on the comment : " In olden times the almanac makers had much difficulty calculating the occurrence of the Blue Moon and this uncertainty gave rise to the expression " Once in a Blue Moon " .

Tuesday , August 20 , 2013 , 9:45 p.m. EDT . The Full Moon of August is usually called the Corn Moon , Sturgeon Moon , Red Moon , Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon .


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