Post by andi on Jul 28, 2015 10:34:41 GMT -5
July 31st Full Blue Moon 6:43 am
The month of July brings us not one, but two full Moons. The first kicked off at the beginning of the month with the full Buck Moon on July 1st, and will be followed by a second on Friday, July 31.
Some almanacs and calendars assert that when two full Moons occur within a calendar month, the second full Moon is called a “Blue Moon.” The full (blue) Moon on the last Friday in July will likely look no different than any other full Moon, and most likely will not look blue in color. However, the Moon can change color in certain conditions.
After forest fires or volcanic eruptions, the Moon can appear to take on a bluish or even lavender hue. Soot and ash particles, deposited high in the Earth’s atmosphere, can sometimes make it appear bluish. Smoke from widespread forest fire activity in western Canada created a true Blue Moon across eastern North America in late September 1950. In the aftermath of the massive eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991, there were reports of Blue Moons (and even blue suns) worldwide.
Origin of the Term
The phrase “once in a blue moon” was first noted in 1824 and refers to occurrences that are uncommon, though not truly rare. Yet, to have two full Moons in the same month is not as uncommon as one might think. In fact, it occurs, on average, about every 2.66 years. And in the year 1999, it occurred twice in a span of just three months.
For the longest time no one seemed to have a clue as to where the “Blue Moon Rule” originated. Many years ago in the pages of Natural History magazine, I speculated that the rule might have evolved out of the fact that the word belewe came from the Old English, meaning, “to betray.” “Perhaps,” I suggested, “the second full Moon is belewe because it betrays the usual perception of one full Moon per month.” But as innovative as my explanation was, it turned out to be completely wrong.
More here ...
farmersalmanac.com/astronomy/2015/07/06/july-is-a-blue-moon-month/