text: Update for Aug. 1: The Blue Moon of July 31 wowed skywatchers around the world. See photos and our full story, read: Blue Moon of 2015 Thrills Skywatchers with Lunar Beauty: Photos 
   
   On Friday, much of the world will have the opportunity to observe a Blue Moon: A somewhat rare occurrence that doesn't have anything to do with the moon's color. 
   
   During most years, the Earth experiences 12 full moons, one in each month. But some years, such as 2015, have 13 full moons, and one of those "extra" lunar displays gets the label of Blue Moon. 
   
   The lunar or synodic month (full moon to full moon) averages 29.530589 days, which is shorter than every calendar month in the year except for February. Those extra one-half or one-and-one-half days accumulate over the year, causing some years to have 13 full moons rather than 12. [Video: What's a Blue Moon, Is It REALLY Blue?] 
   
   Thought to be called "blue" after an old english term meaning "betrayer," a Blue Moon is an extra full moon that occurs due to a quirk of the calendar. [ See the full Blue Moon Infographic here .] Credit: Karl Tate, SPACE.com 
   
   To see what I mean, here is a list of full-moon dates in 2015: Jan. 5, Feb. 3, March 5, April 4, May 4, June 2, July 2, July 31, Aug. 29, Sept. 28, Oct. 27, Nov. 25 and Dec. 25. In 2016, the first full moon falls on Jan. 23, and each calendar month has only one full moon. 
   
   The expression "once in a blue moon" has a long history of being used to describe rare events; but it was also used in the Maine Farmers' Almanac to describe the third full moon in a season that has four (normally, a three-month season will only have three full moons). 
   
   In 1946, Sky & Telescope magazine published an article that misinterpreted the older definition, defining a Blue Moon as the second full moon in a calendar month. This has become the most recent and perhaps most widely accepted definition of a Blue Moon. And hence, the full moon on July 31 is referred to as a Blue Moon, because it was preceded by the full moon on July 2. By this definition, a Blue Moon occurs roughly once every 2.7 years. 
   
   The full moon appears to last for at least the length of one night, but technically speaking, it is an instantaneous event: It occurs when the sun, Earth and moon fall close to a straight line. It takes place at the same instant everywhere in the world, whether the moon is above or below the horizon. 
   
   
   
   Supermoon! Not only is it the biggest full moon of the year, it's super cool. 
   
   Full Moons: They come around every month and light up the night. 
   
   Lunar Eclipses: There's nothing more spectacular than a blood-red moon in Earth's shadow. 
   
   Blue Moon: They're rare and amazing, if not actually blue. 
   
   Solar Eclipses: The moon has the power to block out the sun! 
   
   
   
   The full moon on July 31 occurs at exactly 6:43 a.m. EDT (1043 GMT). 
   
   So, when you look at the Blue Moon on Friday morning, don't expect to see a different color scheme (although it is possible for the moon to appear to have a bluish hue). Just be aware that the so-called Blue Moon is a byproduct of the contrast between the calendar month and the lunar month. 
   
   Editor's note: If you capture an amazing view of the Blue Moon full moon of July 31 and would like to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, send images and comments in to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com. 
   
   This article was provided to SPACE.com by Simulation Curriculum, the leader in space science curriculum solutions and the makers of Starry Night and SkySafari. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. ||||| 
   
   
   
   Blue moons aren’t actually blue, but they are as rare as the saying goes. 
   
   The second full moon in a month is commonly referred to as a blue moon—we had a full moon on July 2, and we’ll have another this Friday on July 31—but there’s a more complicated definition according to the U.S. Naval Observatory:
target: – When Friday's blue moon arrives, don't expect it to be blue—a blue moon isn't actually that color, reports CNN, though some full moons can indeed have a bluish hue. The phrase "once in a blue moon" refers to something that is rare, and it was once used this way in the Maine Farmers' Almanac when describing the third full moon in the rare season that has four (typically, there is only one full moon a month, thus a three-month season will have three full moons). But in 1946, Sky & Telescope magazine published an article that misunderstood this definition, instead calling the second full moon in a calendar month a blue moon. And it is indeed fairly rare: It happens once every 2.7 years or so. This has become the modern definition and is used to describe Friday's full moon, which is the second this month (the first was on July 2); it'll be the last of its kind until January 2018. Interestingly, while the most recent blue moon according to this modern definition occurred at the end of August of 2012, the most recent blue moon according to the original definition occurred more recently, in August of 2013, when the full moon was the third of four that summer. As for the blue moon on July 31, while it may seem to last all night, it's technically an "instantaneous event" that occurs at 6:43am EDT on the nose, reports Space.com. (Earlier this month, a man took an incredible picture of the International Space Station passing in front of the moon.)