Posted on 01/20/2019 6:25:36 PM PST by Redcitizen
Grab your winter coat, some hot cocoa and your kid's telescope on Sunday and head outside because the next super blood wolf moon wont be showing its face for another 18 years.
While the celestial phenomenon sounds like something youd read in a teenage werewolf novel, its actual meaning is derived from multiple sources.
The term "super" refers to the placement of the moon. This month, the moon will be at its closest point to Earths orbit, making it appear larger than normal.
The term "wolf" derives from the Native American nickname for January's full moon and the wolves who "howled in hunger outside the villages," according to the Farmers Almanac.
The term "blood" comes from the way the suns light bends and refracts off the Earth's atmosphere and onto the moons surface, making it appear red or copper at times. This phenomenon, called "Rayleigh scattering," is also what causes the beautiful colors of our sunrises and sunsets as well as what makes our sky look blue. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California notes, however, that clouds, dust, ash and organic matter in Earths atmosphere may change the expected color of a super wolf blood moon.
"Were not sure what color it will turn. It really depends on the earths atmosphere, whether weve had storms, volcanic eruptions, all sorts of things," explained Dr. David Reitzel, an astronomer and lecturer at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
LOL
If I don’t show up to the party you’ll know that I have
joined the Great Pumpkin Super Blood Wolf Moon in the sky!
(Maybe I’ll find out what the Chinese have been up to on the back side of it.)
Yes, that’s basically the same as Farmer’s Almanac.
I was trying to generalize it for any year.
The autumnal equinox is Sep 22 (23 in the year before a leap year).
This would put:
earliest midpoint latest
Harvest Moon 9/7 9/22 10/6
Hunter’s Moon 10/6 10/21 11/5
Beaver Moon 11/5 11/20 12/4
Cold Moon 12/4 12/19 1/3
(This one should be closest to the winter solstice, but it could be off)
Wolf Moon 1/3 1/18 2/1
Snow Moon 2/1 2/16 3/3
From here, things could shift back a day during leap year.
Worm Moon 3/3 3/18 4/2
Pink Moon 4/2 4/16 5/1
Flower Moon 5/1 5/16 5/31
Here I debated. I am thinking if there is a full moon on 5/1, then another on 5/30 or 5/31, the second one should be
“Blue Flower Moon.” Other possibilities would include dropping one of the previous moons. (e.g. if Hunter’s Moon fell on 11/5, there would be no Beaver Moon, and Cold moon would be on 12/4 or 12/5.
Strawberry Moon 6/1 6/15 6/30
I guess a moon on 6/1 and then 6/30 would be Blue Strawberry.
Buck Moon 7/1 7/15 7/30
Possible Blue Buck on 7/30 or 7/31
Sturgeon Moon 8/1 8/15 8/30
Possible Blue Sturgeon Moon on 8/30 or 8/31
Which still leaves a moon between 9/1 and 9/7 unnamed.
Maybe one of the alternate names for August: Red Moon,
Grain Moon, Green Corn Moon....maybe Blue Grain Moon so as to avoid confusion with the August moon.
Wow. You’ve really put a lot of thought into this.
I just remember the beautiful boy who was kissing me beside the lake, under the Blue Moon of some July in the 1980s...:-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.