I'll Have a Blue, Blue-Blue-Blue ... New Year's (Moon)!
You’ve all heard the expression “once in a blue moon” right?
It indicates something rare and uncommon. But just how infrequent IS a “blue moon”?
Technical definitions vary, but generally the second full moon in a single calendar month is considered a “blue moon.” This takes place about every 2.5 years (the last blue moon was in May 2007)
But there’s an even rarer kind of blue moon.
One that falls on New Year’s Eve...something that, as you may have guessed from the very existence of this post, happens tonight(*).
A New Year’s Eve Blue Moon is extremely rare, shining only once every NINETEEN YEARS!
The last occurred in 1990, and it will not happen again until 2028.
So, while you’re ringing in the 2010, take a moment to step outside and get a glimpse of that truly once-in-a-blue-moon, Blue Moon!
(*)Except for Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Far East. The full moon will rise on the 1st in those time zones, meaning January has two full moons. However, you will have a partial lunar eclipse tonight (which the rest of the world will not) AND furthermore, the existence of a January blue moon means that you folks Down Under will ALSO get the even rarer DOUBLE Blue Moon in 2010! (A Double Blue Moon [two blue moons within a single calendar year] only occurs about four times a CENTURY!!!)
It indicates something rare and uncommon. But just how infrequent IS a “blue moon”?
Technical definitions vary, but generally the second full moon in a single calendar month is considered a “blue moon.” This takes place about every 2.5 years (the last blue moon was in May 2007)
But there’s an even rarer kind of blue moon.
One that falls on New Year’s Eve...something that, as you may have guessed from the very existence of this post, happens tonight(*).
A New Year’s Eve Blue Moon is extremely rare, shining only once every NINETEEN YEARS!
The last occurred in 1990, and it will not happen again until 2028.
So, while you’re ringing in the 2010, take a moment to step outside and get a glimpse of that truly once-in-a-blue-moon, Blue Moon!
(*)Except for Australia, New Zealand, and parts of the Far East. The full moon will rise on the 1st in those time zones, meaning January has two full moons. However, you will have a partial lunar eclipse tonight (which the rest of the world will not) AND furthermore, the existence of a January blue moon means that you folks Down Under will ALSO get the even rarer DOUBLE Blue Moon in 2010! (A Double Blue Moon [two blue moons within a single calendar year] only occurs about four times a CENTURY!!!)