The change of base formula allows us to convert a logarithm to a different base, which can simplify evaluation. For \( \log_8 256 \), we can express it using base 2:
\[ \log_8 256 = \frac{\log_2 256}{\log_2 8}. \]
Since \( 256 = 2^8 \) and \( 8 = 2^3 \), this can be calculated as:
\[ \log_2 256 = 8 \quad \text{and} \quad \log_2 8 = 3, \]
thus,
\[ \log_8 256 = \frac{8}{3}. \]