A blue moon comes around only so often, but one is shining brightly for about 3-1/2 months straight now through January 6, 2015, at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

From their website: “NHMLA is unveiling one of the rarest stones, a 12-carat Fancy Vivid blue diamond, which is internally flawless. The Blue Moon Diamond is housed in a special, temporary exhibition in the Gem Vault. The Blue Moon Diamond has been categorized as an extremely significant find – and one of the newest and rarest stones currently worldwide – due to its unique color, clarity, and size. Cut from a 29.6-carat rough, the internally flawless gem is fashioned in a cushion-cut shape at a noteworthy 12 carats. Diamonds with a strong saturated color represent only a tiny percentage of all natural diamonds – and only a minute percentage of all natural color diamonds are blue, making the Blue Moon Diamond exceptional. The stone was found in the Cullinan mine, northeast of Pretoria, South Africa, which is known for discovering some of the most recognized blue and other color diamonds in the world. The rare gem is on loan from Cora International, a world leading manufacturer and supplier of white and fancy colored diamonds.”

Photos simply cannot do this gem justice. Well, photos I took don’t anyway. The fact that the best picture I got was on my phone says something, right?

So why not celebrate this fall season with a walk by the sparkly, shimmery light of the Blue Moon… Diamond, that is.

Entry to NHMLA’s Gem Vault is included with a regular admission ticket or any membership admission. As there is no timed ticket for viewing the Blue Moon Diamond, there could be a first-come, first-view queue during busier visitation times (during weekday field trip hours, weekends, and holidays). You can go to the NHMLA website for more information on museum hours, tickets, and membership details.