The rare "micromoon" Blue Moon phenomenon is expected to occur at the beginning of next week, during which the full moon is at its farthest point and appears smallest in size throughout the year.
Every two to three years, a Blue Moon occurs when a second full moon appears during the same month, with May 1 having witnessed the first full moon of the current month.
Since the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular, the upcoming full moon will be farther from Earth than usual at a distance of 406,135 kilometers, making it appear slightly smaller and less bright, which is the opposite of a supermoon when the full moon is closer to Earth than usual.
Gianluca Masi from the Virtual Telescope Project, who will provide a live broadcast from Italy, said that the small moon arriving on Sunday will be 6% smaller and 10% less bright than the average full moon.
