For the first time in about two years the Earth will get to experience a "blue moon" and, while there is more than one definition for the lunar event, there will definitely be one at the end of July.
Vicente Malano, PAGASA's acting administrator, told CNN about one way to determine when a blue moon will occur.
"Since the lunar cycle is 29 days and most months have 30 to 31 days, we eventually find a situation where a full moon occurs at the beginning and the ending of the same month," he said.
The last of this kind of blue moon occurred Aug. 20 and 12, 2013.
But Earth and Sky detailed a different definition of what constitutes a blue moon. Each season has three full moons, but if one ever experiences four, then the third one is the blue moon. The last of this kind of blue moon was Nov. 21, 2010.
The magazine also noted sky watchers have recently taken up a debate as to which one should be generally accepted. The debate may never be settled, so we may as well keep record of both. The last time there were two in one year was 1999, Earth and Sky reported.
As an added bonus, sky watchers will also be treated to a meteor shower, Malano told CNN. The Southern Delta Aquarids will be visible from July 28 to 31, with optimal viewing on the 29th and 30th.
"The stream normally produces about 5 to 10 meteors per hour with overall activity of about 15 meteors per hour under good sky conditions," he said, cautioning that the blue moon could actually outshine the meteor shower.
