Super blue moon to light up the night sky Wednesday into Thursday

The world is being treated to a lunar event on Wednesday. A super blue moon is expected to brighten the sky, but how blue is it going to be?

“It’s not a blue moon in the sense of the moon turning blue, its called a blue moon because of the phrase, ‘once in a blue moon’, it means it happens every so often,” explained Frank Florian, senior manager of Planetarium & Space Sciences, Telus World of Science.

A blue moons happen when there is more than one full moon in a single month. Wednesday night’s moon, is considered ‘super’ because of the time of year — the moon appearing bigger, because it is closer.

With talk of full moons, you’ve probably heard people talk of mood changes through the generations.

“In theory, it was believed the cycle of the moon has effects on the persons behaviour, mental health and physical health,” said Dr. Adam Abba-Aji, Psychiatrist of Mood Disorders in young adults at the University of Alberta.

There is a small relationship between a full moon and people’s mental health. People tend to get less sleep because the body produces less melatonin. Less sleep increases the likelihood of mental health issues being triggered during. But according to Abba-Aji, it’s the lack of sleep that is the trigger and not the moon itself.

“Sleep is an important part of mental health and when we sleep well, our mental and physical health tends to do well, we tend to do well. And when we’re deprived of sleep, it can effect our behaviour, our mental health and of course our physical health,” explained Abba-Aji.

According to Abba-Aji, its important during full moons to be aware of those with mental health. If you are struggling, it’s best to go to bed early and get enough sleep so the body can recover.

“This is an opportunity for us who advocate for individuals with mental health, you know, to be aware of their mental health.”

While we might be talking about a super blue moon, Florian says it would be considered a ‘non-event’ by many in the science community.

“We get full moons every month more or less, and just because it’s a little bit closer, doesn’t mean its going to appear that much different over any other month,” said Florian.