May Astronomy

There are two types of Blue Moon and neither has anything to do with color.  Ordinarily a Blue Moon is a second full moon that appears in a calendar month. The 1937 edition of the now defunct Maine Farmers' Almanac (not to be confused with The Old Farmers Almanac) explained in their calendar that a Blue Moon occurs when one of the four seasons contains four full moons instead of the usual three.  The August 21, 1937 moon was the third of four full moons that summer when for no apparent reason it was reported as a Blue Moon.  Ever since, a seasonal blue moon refers to the third full moon in a season that has four full moons.

Anyway, at sunset this evening the second full moon of the month will rise in the east very close to the bright red star, Antares; the brightest of stars in the constellation Scorpius.  It will appear full both tonight and officially tomorrow.

Because it is the second of three consecutive smallest of 2026 full moons it is also what is called a micromoon.  This moon is 252,360 miles (406,135 kilometers) distant.  Ordinarily, the average distance is 238,900 miles (384,472 kilometers) distant.

Fingers-crossed for clear night skies tonight and tomorrow.

Super Blue Moon

Yesterday morning marked the end of the visitation of the Super Blue Moon.  And since I have early morning puppy duty I took the opportunity to experiment with with some iPhone photography.

Aside from come cropping I tried-out some filters too.  I sometimes use the Snapseed App via Google.

It isn't often you get an opportunity to shoot sun rises and moon sets at the same time.

Sunrise

Moon set

Moon set (telephoto and increased saturation)

Moon set (telephoto and grey scale filter)

Moon set (telephoto with more sunlight adjusted ambience)

Welcome To The Family

Yesterday closed following a busy 30+ hours with the new pup. 

Key chapter to raising a pupper is routine. Feeding, rest, abundance of supervised playtime/exercise, potty breaks and positive correction and redirection.

Constant supervision is imperative.  Wear raggedy clothing as puppy teeth are daggers. 

A couple more things:  Super Blue Moon over the ancient pump house tonight.  Saturn is at one o’clock  and Ruby is sleeping it-off. 

 

Pro Tip - bifurcate puppy shifts with your partner and sleep after the dog has flipped her switch to off.

 

Today we started walking from the house on the trail to Silver Creek and back.  The dog is free to run but is clipped to a check line I can step-on to halt or hang on to her.

Super Blue Moon

Super moons take their name from their appearance of 30% brighter and 14% larger.  This is a consequence of the moon's closer approach (called perigee) to the earth.

The month of August has been blessed with the appearance of two super moons.  August 1 and, again this evening.  Beginning tonight and tomorrow you may be treated to the third of four Super Moons viewable this year.

Our last Blue Moon was August 21-22, 2021.  It was viewable near the planets Jupiter and Saturn and was known as a seasonal blue moon.  A seasonal blue moon is the third of four full moons that falls in a season (between solstice and equinox).  Tonight and tomorrow features a monthly blue moon because it is the second of two full moons in a calendar month. 

If that explanation makes your head hurt it is because it is unscientific.  It is folklore.

Anyway, blue moons are rare occurring about every two and a half years.  Enjoy this even rarer opportunity to see a super blue moon.  The last one was 2009 and the next in 2037.

Finally, blue moons are not the color blue.  If you see a photo of a moon tinted blue it is PhotoShop or had a blue filter applied.

Fingers-crossed for good viewing conditions this evening.

 

Blue Moon Astronomy

NASA.Gov

An old-school definition of a Blue Moon is when there are four full moons in a season instead of three - with a season being between a solstice and equinox.  The third of the full moons is traditionally called a Blue Moon.  On average, this occurs once every 2.7 years.  The next seasonal Blue Moon will be August 22, 2021.

The current (modern) definition of a Blue Moon is when two full moons occur within the same calendar month.   

Tomorrow's Halloween full moon - a Hunter's Moon - is a repeat of the full moon that appeared on October 1.  

On rare occasions you might be lucky to be alive to witness both of these types of Blue Moon appearing in the same calendar year.  The conditions for this require thirteen full moons between successive December solstices - for a seasonal Blue Moon.  And thirteen full moons in one calendar year - for a monthly Blue Moon.

The next time these conditions align will be 2048.  In that year there will be a monthly Blue Moon on January 31 and a seasonal Blue Moon on August 23.  Mark your calendar.

Lastly, Blue Moons defined as above are not blue in color.  If you were to see a real blue-colored moon it would be because of very poor air quality conditions that have a great deal of particulate matter in the atmosphere.  If you see a photo of a blue-colored moon it likely a result of Photoshop.

You can learn more here.

Friday Music

This is a classic song written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1934. The doo-wop group, The Marcels, made it a number one international hit. 

It has also been covered by Mel Tormé, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan and too many others to list. My favorite version was recorded by the Cowboy Junkies originally recorded inside Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity on November 27, 1987, with the band circled around a single microphone.  

This is a rare live version from Austin City Limits. Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)…..