EAST Lancastrian residents are in for a special treat on Friday – a Blue Moon.

But don’t worry Burnley fans, it won’t be changing colour to the hue of Rovers’ shirts – in fact it will remain white – it just means there will have been two full moons in a single calendar month.

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But, as the ‘once in a blue moon’ saying goes, it is rare – the last time it happened was on August 31, 2012, and the next time won’t be until March 31, 2018.

Peter Drew, of the Astronomy Centre at Todmorden, says the sight is actually “disappointing”.

He said: “A blue moon occurs when two full moons can be seen in the same month of a given year.

“As the moon’s period is 28 days it is possible for this to happen in any month other than February which is too short a duration.

“Due to the moon’s orbit this phenomenon doesn’t happen every qualifying month so the occurrence is infrequent, the last one was on August 31, 2012.

“Needless to say, the moon will not appear blue, it’s the frequency that causes the interest.

“The moon at full is quite disappointing telescopically as the face on illumination by the sun drowns out the detailed features that usually make the moon such an awe-inspiring spectacle.”

Philip Hiscock, of Sky and Telescope, argues there are even three meanings for the phrase – with the calendar meaning only becoming widespread in the past 25 years.

He said: “The very earliest uses of the term were remarkably like saying the moon is made of green cheese.

“And ‘He would argue the Moon was blue’ was taken by the average person of the 16th Century as we take ‘He’d argue that black is white’.

“But there are also historical examples of the Moon actually turning blue.

“That’s the third meaning – the moon appearing blue in the sky.”