The Really Strange Story Behind Sunday's Blue Moon

[Tuesday Afternoon]

Joe Rao
Skywatching Columnist

– Fri Nov 19, 4:15 pm ET
The full moon of November arrives on Sunday and will bring with it a cosmic addition: It will also be a so-called "blue moon."
"But wait a minute," you might ask. "Isn't a 'blue moon' defined as the second full moon that occurs during a calendar month? Sunday's full moon falls on Nov. 21 and it will be the only full moon in November 2010. So how can it be a 'blue' moon?"
Indeed, November's full moon is blue moon – but only if we follow a rule that's now somewhat obscure.
In fact, the current "two- full moons in one month" rule has superseded an older rule that would allow us to call Sunday's moon "blue." To be clear, the moon does not actually appear a blue color during a blue moon, it has to do with lunar mechanics.

more at link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20101119/sc_space/thereallystrangestorybehindsundaysbluemoon

The Marcels - Blue Moon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0fy1HeJv80

[davidinalameda]

1. did it see you standing alone too

without a love of your own?

[BlueJazz]

2. Maybe it will turn to gold.

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Cool. I always thought the story of 'second moon in a month' was

kind of thin - particularly as it included no explanation of WHY it was 'blue'. This explanation covers all the bases.

[Richard Steele]

4. I did not know that. K&R

[geckosfeet]

5. Is it the second full moon in a calendar month, or the third full moon in

a season with four?

Read more: The Really Strange Story Behind Sunday's Blue Moon

In 2010, the solstice comes at 6:38 p.m. EST (2338 UT).

But the moon turns full at 3:13 a.m. EST (0813 UT). That's 15 hours and 25 minutes before the solstice occurs. So the Dec. 21 full moon occurs during the waning hours of fall and qualifies as the fourth full moon of the season.

This means that under the original Maine Almanac rule – the one promoted by Lafleur and later misinterpreted by Pruett – the third full moon of the 2010 fall season on Nov. 21 would be a blue moon.

So what Blue Moon definition tickles your fancy? Is it the second full moon in a calendar month, or (as is the case on Sunday) the third full moon in a season with four?

Read more: The Really Strange Story Behind Sunday's Blue Moon

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. ~

:kick: