Once In A Blue Moon
Many of my friends know that I have a borderline obsession with the moon. What
was supposed to be a backyard with a pool, over time, became my own personal
Griffith Observatory. For my graduation gift, I've asked my parents for a
telescope (again, borderline obsession with moon/space/galaxy - seriously I
could talk about this all day).
So in the meantime, my friend Hannah referred
me to an app called StarWalk, which is basically a telescope for millennials.
Being a self-proclaimed moon watcher, I took it upon myself to do some research
on this upcoming full moon. Aside from causing trouble sleeping—so my dad says—this
full moon was actually a Blue Moon.
Now, it doesn't actually turn blue, although
people have their doubts. The Blue Moon is really just a Full Moon, but with
two meanings. The older defines the Blue Moon as the third full moon in an
astronomical season with four full Moons. This typically happens every 2.7
years, to be exact. When one of the seasons in a year has four full Moons
instead of the normal three, the third full Moon is called a Blue Moon. The newer
describes the Blue Moon as the second full Moon in a month with two full Moons.
This definition came about through a misinterpretation from a 1943 issue of the
Maine Farmer’s Almanac.
Does it matter which meaning you want to use?
No. It’s completely up to you which one you prefer to use. Confusing, I know.
But by the newest definition, there was indeed
a seasonal Blue Moon on Saturday, May 21st, 2016. The night I spent
entirely too much time being mesmerized by this phenomenon in my driveway. The
next monthly Blue Moon won’t occur again until January 31st, 2018.
The next seasonal Blue Moon won’t be back until May 18th, 2019.
Pretty cool (and slightly contradicting) if you ask me.
Jan. 31, 2
Jan. 31, 2018
Jan. 31, 2018
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