About Those Blues

Saturday, August 21, 2021 —(Tomorrow, August’s full “Sturgeon” moon will rise nearest to earth.)

Tomorrow’s full moon will be a seasonal “blue moon”. It won’t appear in the sky as a blue globe, but might offer bluish glows. Maybe my run-of-the-mill cameras can pick up coloration differing from other full moons. To clarify, I’m always pleased with my cameras’ yields, but every month’s full moons are somewhat unique. They keep me hoping to discover, in real-time, even a few more elements making monthly sky shows special and appealing.

Full moons let us see a setting sun and a rising moon nearly at the same time. While outside and photographing a full moon, one almost immediately can turn around to capture a disappearing sun.

A moon rising in the east becomes visible because the Earth has rotated toward the moon enough, so that the moon rises over an horizon. When a moon appears rising and a sun appears setting at almost the same time, it means the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the Earth, letting the moon fully reflect the sun’s light and giving us a full moon.

It’s exciting to anticipate this month’s full moon. What might it offer that’s bluish and apparent? Almost exactly, too, the setting sun should be interesting. If the sun holds onto a smoke-caused and outstandingly intense-red, would its off-coloration affect the rising moon’s lighting and shading?

Here’s some reality according to NASA. A blue-colored moon is the result of water droplets in the air, from certain types of clouds, or from particles thrown into the atmosphere by natural catastrophes, such as volcanic ash and smoke. Moreover, blue-colored moons in photos are from using special blue filters for cameras or in post-processing software.

Well, that’s “blue” from the experts, but who knows? My mortal’s eye will focus upward to see natural moon-hues and might also spot seeming moon-blues. Stay tuned.

Dear Friends: Looking at the sky increases our visual system, and engages our imagination. Diana