Rarer Blue Moon

A classic "blue moon" is usually defined as the second full moon to occur in a single calendar month. This one was the other definition, a little more rare than the first. Normally there are three full moons to a season (in this case, summer), but occasionally there are four. The blue moon on this evening was the third of four. These two images look southeast from the grounds at Echo Hill Presbyterian Church in Marion, Iowa on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. The top image of the rising moon was captured at 8:03 PM, the bottom at 8:08 PM. Haze from humid atmospheric conditions made the moon emerge ghost-like from just above the horizon.