Once in a Blue Moon to happen Thursday - 31Dec09

Thought this might be On Topic.

berk
=========

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_140777...ce=most_viewed

Once in a blue moon is about to happen.

On Thursday, a second full moon in a calendar month will appear in the
night sky, an occurrence known as a blue moon.

There has not been a month with two full moons since 2007, when sky
gazers enjoyed one on June 1 and again on June 30 of that year. The
first full moon this month occurred on Dec. 2.

The phrase "blue moon" has nothing to do with the color of the sphere,
explained Conrad Jung, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space &
Science Center in Oakland. "It's just a colloquial term, which means
very, very rare," he said.

"It's not so much a phenomenon but an event of timing," Jung added.
"It's a bit esoteric, to say the least. I don't get a lot of questions
about blue moons."

Early in the last century, a blue moon was considered the third full
moon in a three-month season with four full moons, regardless of when
it appeared, he said. Agrarian cultures paid more attention to full
moons because their nighttime illumination could extend the working
day during planting and harvest seasons, Jung explained. The September
full moon, for example, is known as the harvest moon in the United
States.

A blue moon, or any other moon, can have a blue tint if it is viewed
through dust in the atmosphere from volcanic ash. However, Jung does
not believe the recent eruptions of the Mayon volcano in the
Philippines will have any effect on the color of Thursday's blue moon.

This year's blue moon, though, will give New Year's Eve something
special — a full moon to which wackier-than-usual-behavior among
revelers is often attributed.

"We joke about it," said a San Jose Police Department dispatcher. But,
she added, "it's an urban myth."
=========

It's a good song too.


"TBerk" wrote in message
...
Thought this might be On Topic.

berk
=========

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_140777...ce=most_viewed

Once in a blue moon is about to happen.

On Thursday, a second full moon in a calendar month will appear in the
night sky, an occurrence known as a blue moon.

There has not been a month with two full moons since 2007, when sky
gazers enjoyed one on June 1 and again on June 30 of that year. The
first full moon this month occurred on Dec. 2.

The phrase "blue moon" has nothing to do with the color of the sphere,
explained Conrad Jung, a staff astronomer at the Chabot Space &
Science Center in Oakland. "It's just a colloquial term, which means
very, very rare," he said.

"It's not so much a phenomenon but an event of timing," Jung added.
"It's a bit esoteric, to say the least. I don't get a lot of questions
about blue moons."

Early in the last century, a blue moon was considered the third full
moon in a three-month season with four full moons, regardless of when
it appeared, he said. Agrarian cultures paid more attention to full
moons because their nighttime illumination could extend the working
day during planting and harvest seasons, Jung explained. The September
full moon, for example, is known as the harvest moon in the United
States.

A blue moon, or any other moon, can have a blue tint if it is viewed
through dust in the atmosphere from volcanic ash. However, Jung does
not believe the recent eruptions of the Mayon volcano in the
Philippines will have any effect on the color of Thursday's blue moon.

This year's blue moon, though, will give New Year's Eve something
special — a full moon to which wackier-than-usual-behavior among
revelers is often attributed.

"We joke about it," said a San Jose Police Department dispatcher. But,
she added, "it's an urban myth."
=========

On Dec 28, 7:05 pm, TBerk wrote:
Thought this might be On Topic.

berk
=========

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_140777...ce=most_viewed

Once in a blue moon is about to happen.

On Thursday, a second full moon in a calendar month will appear in the
night sky, an occurrence known as a blue moon.

There has not been a month with two full moons since 2007, when sky
gazers enjoyed one on June 1 and again on June 30 of that year.

I am not sure that "enjoy" is the right word to use WRT a full moon,
at least if one is an amateur astronomer.

On Dec 30 2009, 1:04*pm, "mta" quoted, in part:

Early in the last century, a blue moon was considered the third full
moon in a three-month season with four full moons, regardless of when
it appeared, he said. Agrarian cultures paid more attention to full
moons because their nighttime illumination could extend the working
day during planting and harvest seasons, Jung explained. The September
full moon, for example, is known as the harvest moon in the United
States.

Ah. When I saw examples of blue moons in pictures of an old almanac
citing them in a Sky and Telescope article on the subject, I figured
that the traditional definition was very like the modern definition,
but with one adjustment.

Instead of the second full moon in a calendar month, the second full
moon while the Sun is in an astrological "sign". Since the equinoxes
and solstices are boundaries between signs in the tropical Zodiac,
this would mean that one moon in a season with four full moons - but
not necessarily the third - would be a "blue moon".

John Savard