The blue moon was actually red on July 31, 2015

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What was actually the color of the Blue Moon last friday night?

Blue? No the rising moon turned orange-red! Watch these amazing pictures of the full moon from around the world:

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Blue moon at Chief Joseph Highway summit overlook, Wyoming on July 31, 2015. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff

 

The Moon turns red for the same reason that sunsets are red.

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Red blue moon @ Silkeborg, Denmark on July 31, 2015. Photo by Ole Ambrosiussen

The red color is created by microscopic aerosols present in the atmosphere which scatter blue light and leave the red behind.

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Blue Moon over Saquarema, Brazil on July 31, 2015. Photo by Helio C. Vital

In rare cases, the moon can also turn blue. The color is then triggered by volcano ash or wilfire aerosol found in the smoke.

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Blue Moon over @ Pécs Hungary on July 31, 2015. Photo by Jakab Róbert

Volcanic and smoke aerosols of just the right size – about 1 micron in diameter – scatter all the red out of moonlight and turn the lunar disk blue.

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Full blue moon over Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, Athens, Greece on July 31, 2015. Photo by Anthony Ayiomamitis
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Blood blue moon over Corfu, Greece on July 31, 2015. Photo by Bill Metallinos
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Plane in Blue Moon over Brisbane, Australia on July 31, 2015. Photo by Stephen Mudge
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Blue Moon over the Atacama Desert, Chile on July 31, 2015. Photo by Yuri Beletsky.

Did you also make a picture of this red Blue Moon?

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