We're in for a bit of a special occasion this Halloween night: a Hunter's Blue Moon.

Education Specialist for Rothney Astrophysical Observatory Jennifer Howse says it'll set the perfect tone for the spookiest night of the year.

"It will be rising at 6:35 pm, and it will be a lovely Harvest Moon. It'll have that wonderful atmospheric effect and look very big in the east as it's rising."

She says"Blue Moon" doesn't refer to the colour of the moon, but is rather the name given to a rare lunar phenomenon.

"What that means is that within a calendar month, we have two full moon phases, and so on October 31st is the second full moon we've seen in October."

Howse says it won't be the only sight to see that night, as the Red Planet will still be visible.

"Just above it, a little bit higher and farther to the south, you're going to see the planet Mars, and Mars will look like a red dot in the sky compared to that big moon."

We won't see another fully illuminated moon on Halloween again until 2039.

 

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