Blue moon seen around the globe

Although the moon wasn’t actually colored blue, the rare event will not happen again until July 2015. Friday’s blue moon also coincided with a private service for Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who died Aug. 25 at age 82.

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Aug. 31, 2012

A blue moon rises above the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens. Although the moon is not actually colored blue, the rare event occurs when there’s a second full moon in one calendar month.

Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 31, 2012

A village boy rides his bicycle as a blue moon shines on the outskirts of the eastern Indian city of Bhubaneswar. A blue moon only happens about once every 2.7 years.

Biswaranjan Rout / AP

Aug. 31, 2012

The blue moon rises over Rio de Janeiro. Last month’s first full moon was on Aug. 1-2.

Vanderlel Almeida / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 31, 2012

The blue moon is seen over Cincinnati, where the family of Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil Armstrong held a memorial service celebrating his life earlier in the day. Armstrong, who in 1969 became the first man to walk on the moon, died Aug. 25 in the Cincinnati area. He was 82.

NASA / Reuters

Aug. 31, 2012

An American flag flies at half-staff in honor of the passing of Neil Armstrong, in front of the rising blue moon at a baseball park in Richmond.

Dean Hoffmeyer / AP

Aug. 31, 2012

People watch as a blue moon rises over the skyline of New York from the Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, N.J..

Gary Hershorn / Reuters

Aug. 31, 2012

A blue moon is seen in the sky of the Jordanian capital, Amman.

Muhammad Hamed / Reuters

Aug. 31, 2012

A blue moon is seen in the sky of the Amman, Jordan.

Muhammad Hamed / Reuters

Aug. 31, 2012

A blue moon is seen behind tree branches in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.

Robert Atanasovski / AFP/Getty Images

Aug. 31, 2012

Greeks and tourists visit the Roman Agora in Athens, which was open all night as part of a full moon celebration. A number of archaeological sites and museums around Greece opened at night with events and concerts celebrating the blue moon.

Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images

August 30, 2012

A blue moon is seen from the Atahualpa Stadium in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.

Gary Granja / Reuters

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