Full Blue Moon 2021

The Moon will be in opposition, with its surface reflecting the maximum amount of sunlight toward Earth. This phase occurs at 12:01 UTC.

During this phase, the Moon rises at sunset, reaches its highest point at midnight, and sets at sunrise. As a result, the Full Moon is visible throughout the entire night, from dusk until dawn.

Because it is directly illuminated by the Sun on the side facing Earth, the Full Moon is very bright and easy to observe with the naked eye, even under slightly cloudy conditions. However, this same brightness often outshines faint celestial objects such as nebulae or galaxies, making this period less ideal for observing them.

This Full Moon is called a Blue Moon, because this is the third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons. Normally, there are only three Full Moons in each season of the year. However, since a Full Moon occurs every 29.53 days, a season can occasionally have four Full Moons. Despite being called a “Blue Moon,” the Moon does not actually appear blue at this time.