The second full moon for the month of August 2012 will occur on Friday the 31st, which is commonly referred to as a ‘blue moon’. But will it actually be blue? Or even red?

A Blue Moon is defined as a Full Moon that occurs a second time in a single month. During August 2012, there are two Full Moons — one on August 1, 2012 and one on August 31, 2012.

Blue Moons are not necessarily the color blue, however. A blue-colored Moon occurs following volcanoes that emit particles that block red light. Some forest fires sometimes emit particles that block red light. These conditions can make the Moon look blue.

In Chicago most particles, such as smaller dust, pollen and air pollution particles block the blue color with its shorter wavelength.

Chicago’s Blue Moon is likely to be more reddish than blue tonight.

Moon Rise is at 7:10 p.m. CDT. The Moon will set on Saturday 6:22 a.m. CDT.

Cloud cover over Arlington Heights is expected to be about 47% at Moon Rise with a chance of precipitation at 64%. Cloud cover forecast ranges from 47% to 76% between Moon Rise and Moon Set (10:03 a.m. forecast).

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