Blue Moon And Red Mars Will Come Together In The Sky On October 31. Here Are All The Details

October is a month that keeps on giving treats to sky gazers. Incidentally, the next October treat falls on the day of Trick or Treat: Halloween. October 31 will see a Blue Moon.

Not only that, the Red Planet, just past its closest approach to Earth in two years ¨C will appear in the sky near the full moon.

Representational Image/Starwalk.space

Red Mars and Blue Moon together - not a treat you would want to miss.

After the blue moon this year, we will need to wait until 2039 to see the next blue moon falling exactly on October 31.

It's not called a ¡®Blue Moon¡¯ because of the colour but when it occurs. The time between one full moon and the next is close to the length of a calendar month. So, the only time one month can have two full moons is when the first full moon happens in the first few days of the month. This happens every two to three year. The last Blue Moon by this definition of the term happened on March 31, 2018.

Also Read: NASA Wants To Protect Moon And Mars From Human Germs

Representational Image/cambridge.org

As stated by NASA, "Most Blue Moons look pale gray and white, indistinguishable from any other moon you've ever seen. Squeezing a second full moon into a calendar month doesn't change the physical properties of the moon itself, so the color remains the same."

Sometimes, however, the moon does look blue. But it has to do with atmospheric conditions and not calendar time.

This full moon moment comes on October 31, at 14:49 UTC which in IST is around 8.15 pm. So the blue moon/full moon with be visible in India around that time.

Also Read: The Biggest Asteroids That Passed Between The Earth And The Moon In The Last Few Years

Representational Image/Reuters

It is also a micro-moon because it¡¯s the most distant (and smallest) full moon in 2020.

So, mark the day and time on your calendar to get your treat right at home.