Once in a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve 2009

As the moon was rising in the East on this very cold December day, I knew that I needed to capture this moon. It is called the Blue Moon. This is a rare event in December. We have had cloudy and snowy days and nights for about a week now and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to see it but the sun came out today and the skies cleared. What a beautiful site. The funny thing is that all my life when I heard someone talk about the blue moon, I thought they meant that the moon was really blue....but instead, it is a rare event and only happens once in a blue moon!

Rarely, once in a very long time, as in that only happens once in a blue moon. This term is something of a misnomer, because an actual blue moon—that is, the appearance of a second full moon in the same calendar month—occurs every 32 months or so. Further, the moon can appear blue in color at any time, depending on weather conditions and (heh heh,) if the photographer uses a blue filter!