Friday, June 1, 2007

The Blue Moon tonight

The Blue Moon tonight



The phrase Òblue moonÓ has been with us for well over 400 years thanks to an arcane piece of poetry found in a 1528 pamphlet titled Rede Me and Be Not Wrothe. But it wasnÕt until the Maine FarmersÕ Almanac started, in the 1800s, using the phrase to describe the rare occasion when four full moons would occur within a quarter of the year. Specifically, the term was used to describe the third moon of the four moon string and it was special because quarters of the year typically see only three moons. And while the standard three moons would have mythological names associated with them Ñ like the Harvest Moon and the HunterÕs Moon Ñ the random extra moon had no such name and thus ÒBlue MoonÓ was adopted to describe this seldom experienced sight.

Furthermore, it was also during this time that all sorts of cool legends Ñ like the blue moonÕs ability to talk to you and tell you your future or infect you with love Ñ started popping up. Unfortunately, as time marched on and the Almanac writers passed away, the meaning of a Blue Moon was lost and a newer, much more widely understood definition began to emerge. For some reason, a Blue Moon became the second full moon in any given Gregorian calendar month Ñ an occurrence that is far from commonplace but, thanks to the various lengths of said months, is guaranteed to happen 41 times over the course of a century. That being said, when our moon goes blue tonight, you better enjoy it because it isnÕt happening again until December 2009.

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