From the archive: Blue sun and moon over Scotland, 27 September, 1950

Following the extraordinary spectacle of a blue sun seen from Scotland and the North of England yesterday afternoon, the moon, when it rose last night, was observed also to be coloured blue.

As the moon rose higher in the sky, the blue colour became less apparent. Cloud and low-lying haze prevented the moon from being clearly seen in the centre of Edinburgh, but the blue shade was observable. In the afternoon many people in all parts of the country had mistaken the blue sun for the moon. But last night there was no mistake. Although indistinct to many, the legendary phenomenon associated with very rare events had become an actuality, and the conditions were established for all the things that only happen once in a blue moon. Actually the phrase, “once in a blue moon”, springs from the rarity of last night’s phenomenon.