New Years Eve PARTY GUIDE
"BRINGING IN TWENTY TEN KEMAH STYLE WITH A BLUE MOON"
Posted on 12/31/2009 11:29:02 AM PST by Star Traveler
That's the problem with being "indoctrinated" by the MSM... :-)
By Jay Michaels
Story Published: Dec 30, 2009 at 8:38 PM CST
When somebody says that something happens 'every once in a blue moon,' usually they mean it doesn't happen very often.
A local astronomer says that back in the 1940's, a researcher for 'Sky and Telescope Magazine' managed to misquote the definition of a blue moon as being a second full moon during a calendar month.
He says the Maine Farmer's Almanac defined the third full moon during a season – as a blue moon.
Faulkner Planetarium Manager Rick Greenawald says, “If there were four full moons during one of those seasons, the third full moon was referred to as the blue moon to keep the other moons in line with their traditional interpretation, harvest, hunters, and so forth.”
He says in seven out of 19 years, a total of 13 full moons will occur in a twelve month period; and he says by using the original method blue moons happen more often than the 'two full moons in a calendar month' reckoning.
And because of this historical and long-standing definition (prior to the mistaken article which ended up changing a lot of people's minds to the wrong definition) -- the Blue Moon does not occur until the moon of November 6 to December 4th of 2010.
For the year 2010, these are the dates of the moons in the northern hemisphere using UTC calculations. These dates use the actual solstices and not the artificial solstices that give each season an equal number of days.
A blue moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days compared to the lunar year. The extra days accumulate, so that every two or three years (on average about every 2.7154 years[1]), there is an extra full moon. The extra moon is called a "blue moon." Different definitions place the "extra" moon at different times.
Then there are The Marcells. Great song!
The way I read the article, the blue moon occurred on Dec. 2.
So is there going to be a full moon in February of this year?
That’s 2010 not 2009... :-)
For the year 2010, these are the dates of the moons in the northern hemisphere using UTC calculations. These dates use the actual solstices and not the artificial solstices that give each season an equal number of days.
The first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley, but the version that really stirred things up came from The Marcels, a doo-wop group. In 1961 the Marcels had 3 songs to record and needed one more. Producer Stu Phillips did not like any of the other songs except one that had the same changes as Heart and Soul and Blue Moon. He asked them if they knew either, and one knew Blue Moon and taught it to the others, though with the bridge or release (middle section - "I heard somebody whisper...") wrong. The famous introduction to the song ("bomp-baba-bomp" and "dip-da-dip") was an excerpt of an original song that the group had in its act. The record reached #1 on the Billboard Pop chart for three weeks and #1 on the R&B charts. [3] The Marcels version of "Blue Moon" sold a million copies, and is featured in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Is that because that in 2009 the full moon on Dec. 2 was in Autumn and the one tonight is in Winter?
Written by Fraser Cain
Here is the schedule for all the Full Moons that will happen in 2010. If you're going to go skywatching, remember that the best time to see the night sky is when you have a new moon. When there's a full moon, the dimmer skies are washed out. Please note that all the times listed are in Universal Time.
Full Moon for January, 2010
January 30, 06:18Full Moon for February, 2010
February 28, 16:38Full Moon for March, 2010
March 30, 02:25Full Moon for April, 2010
April 28, 12:18Full Moon for May, 2010
May 27, 23:07Full Moon for June, 2010
June 26, 11:30Full Moon for July, 2010
July 26, 01:37Full Moon for August, 2010
August 24, 17:05Full Moon for September, 2010
September 23, 09:17Full Moon for October, 2010
October 23, 01:36Full Moon for November, 2010
November 21, 17:27Full Moon for December, 2010
December 21, 08:13
A little note here is that I don't see the location for the times, so I'm assuming it's UTC.
Is that because that in 2009 the full moon on Dec. 2 was in Autumn and the one tonight is in Winter?
The Farmer's Almanac did say that they went by the Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall) -- so that would make sense.
I’m devastated. First, Walter Williams tells me today does not end the decade and now the second full moon of the month is not ‘blue.’ I feel as if my IQ has been lowered 50%.
Wow! Great article! It was an eye-opener. For all my life, I’ve been under the false impression of the “2 new-moons in a month” definition of a blue moon. Now, I now the truth: The third full-moon in a season of four full-moons is a true blue moon!
I’m quite pleased that Sky & Telescope has fessed up to their own errors from 1943 and 1946 which seems to be the cause of the blue-moon confusion.
Thanks for posting it.
Cheers
P.S. - Now I can blow away my buddies with this little tidbit: February CAN have a blue-moon!
Cheers
January: Old Moon, or Moon After Yule
February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon
March: Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Lenten Moon
April: Grass Moon, or Egg Moon
May: Planting Moon, or Milk Moon
June: Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
July: Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon
August: Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon
September: Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon
October: Harvest Moon, or Hunter’s Moon
November: Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon
December: Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon
Source:
Guy Ottewell’s Astronomical Calendar
One of the best astronomical calendars in existence!
Well, I would say — on the other hand — that you’re smarter now, since you have the correct information and know why it’s correct and what caused everyone else to have the wrong information... :-)
I went around and around with some people back in 1999 about the Blue Moon, too... :-)
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