The 7 Coolest Moon Phenomena You Can Catch In The Night Sky

While learning how to find Mars and other planets have garnered much attention these days, Earth's moon continues to fascinate humans. The moon is located an average of 238,855 miles away, depending on its orbit around Earth, and it typically appears black and white when viewed by the naked eye. In reality, the moon is covered with lunar regolith, which is a type of greyish, charcoal-colored combination of rock and dust. The types of moon phases, or lunar cycles, can create nights that are lighter or darker than normal, as well as times when the moon seemingly disappears altogether due to each new moon. These phases are all attributed to Earth's orbit along with illumination of the sun.

Aside from seeing different phases of the moon that occur over an average of 29.5 days, there are also some out-of-the ordinary events surrounding the moon to consider. From rare moon colors to "supermoons" and other phenomena, this rock-based celestial body offers several visual events. These are all of course outside of the key purposes of the moon, such as its gravitational pull against the earth. If you happen to look up at the moon one evening and notice a different color or size, there are scientific reasons to explain such events.

Despite its grey colored surface, the moon typically appears white to Earth inhabitants. It's also common for the moon to look yellow. What's more, a full moon can appear even more of a bright yellow or yellowish-orange, which may leave you wondering why the moon looks orange sometimes. It turns out that these yellow and orangish hues are all just illusions, though.

The color of the moon that you witness is a reflection of Earth thanks to light cast by the sun. But there are also other factors at play here, too. Since yellow light is typically not as scattered as other colors, the moon might be more likely to reflect this color than others. A yellow or orange moon is also more likely to appear this color near the horizon because of the presence of longer redder wavelengths of light versus shorter blue ones. Compare this to when the moon is overhead in the sky where it may look whiter because the reflected light does not travel as far, thereby leaving more blue wavelengths.

If you know your moon nicknames, then you're likely familiar with April's "Pink Moon." Also called the Paschal Moon or Lenten Moon depending on its timing with the spring equinox, this perceived rosy-colored moon is associated with the April full moon as it rises and sets. It also gets its name from pink flowers that are native to eastern parts of North America that bloom this time of year. These phlox flowers are nicknamed "moss pink," and they are commonly observed around the April full moon.

To that end, the Pink Moon is not really pink. Instead, the April full moon technically got its moniker from the phlox flowers of the same color. Nevertheless, sometimes the April Pink Moon can sometimes appear rosy-colored to observers. It's likely that such anecdotal reports may be derived orange tones that are especially dramatic when the full moon is near the horizon, but some people might perceive them as dark pink or rosy-colored due to the moon's name.

While seeing a bright yellow or orange moon can be a fascinating occasion, it's also possible for Earth's moon to experience a rarer color change. Another possibility is a reddish-brown colored moon. This phenomenon typically occurs during a total lunar eclipse, and is also sometimes nicknamed a "blood moon." Since lunar eclipses also only occur during full moons, the red-brown hues can appear even more striking to human observers.

Despite its ominous appearance, a blood moon is not really red or brown, and the color is just merely one of the effects of lunar eclipses. The seeming change in color is once again attributed to tricks of the eye due to other phenomena. In this case, the sun, Earth, and moon all lining up in the same plane. As a result, when the full moon rises, the Earth stands between the rock and the sun, which can block out the sunlight that usually illuminates the moon. Blue light is then scattered, making a normally white-looking moon appear dark red or brown.

A "blood moon" is typically used to describe the changes in appearance of the moon during times of a lunar eclipse. However, this term is also used when a seemingly bright red moon occurs. This eerie-looking moon sounds like something right out of a horror story, with its bright red color the reason why people mistakenly call it a blood moon. However, the redness of the moon is again the result of scattered light happening due to changes in the atmosphere.

When you see a bright red moon, know that this is occurring when the moon reflects shorter wavelengths of sunlight onto Earth combined with other elements in Earth's atmosphere. In particular, the moon can look red during times of significant air pollution. You may have even witnessed a red sunset when wildfire smoke was in the atmosphere in your area. Dust, gas, and water vapor can also decrease the chances of blue light passing through the atmosphere, which can increase the chances of a moon looking red. Volcanic eruptions are other Earth-based phenomena that can create atmospheric changes that impact sunlight reflections onto the moon and can subsequently make it appear red during a lunar eclipse.

If you've ever seen a blue moon, you may be among the few humans to have witnessed such an event. This is arguably the rarest of all moon colors, and is likely behind the old adage "once in a blue moon." Blue moons have also inspired numerous songs, literature, and other pop culture phenomena over the years. Like other uncommon moon colors that tend to take on a red, yellow, or orange hue, this lunar event occurs with a combination of atmospheric particles, especially ash and smoke. In these cases, the particles are large enough to scatter red wavelengths of sunlight to make the moon appear blue.

Aside from the moon taking on a literal blue hue, the term "blue moon" has an alternate meaning. In some cases, "blue moon" is used to describe the second full moon that occurs within the same calendar month. It does not mean the moon will literally be blue, though. This is also relatively uncommon, with a blue moon occurring about once every 32 months. There's even the phenomenon of super blue moons to consider.

Aside from appearing as a different color from time to time, the moon can also appear a different size altogether. One example is the so-called "supermoon," which occurs when a full moon looks abnormally large. This isn't an official scientific term, but it's one that people often use to describe the moon when it's in this phase and location. It's also worth noting that supermoons occur just three or four times in a single year, and these always occur with back-to-back full moons.

It's important to remember that the moon is constantly at a different distance while orbiting around Earth. They can be up to 251,000 miles apart, or as close as 226,000 miles. A supermoon essentially occurs when the full moon is within the closer range (perigee). Due to the constant rotation and changes in distance, it's easy to see how one supermoon might be closer than another, subsequently making it appear even larger. Not only does a supermoon appear larger, but it's also up to 30% brighter than the average full moon.

On the flipside, there are also times when the full moon looks a lot smaller than normal. This is called a "micromoon," and is essentially the opposite of a supermoon. It occurs about 22 hours before the point of apogee, or when the moon is furthest away from Earth. When you see a micromoon, you'll notice that the qualities are all the opposite of a supermoon. While the latter causes a larger-looking and brighter moon, a micromoon is smaller and dimmer than a typical full moon.