useless, yet strangely interesting fact...

[lildevilette]

A "blue moon"
useless_facts community article

Thursday 31st May '07 was a blue moon!!!

The term "once in a blue moon" became a reality on Thursday night, when there was a blue moon outside -- in more than one way.

The term itself refers to a second full moon occurring in the same month. Thursday's blue moon is 33 months after the last one in July 2004.

The term originally came from the Maine Farmer's Almanac in the 19th Century. In that context, the almanac referred to the fourth full moon in a "season." Normally, each season only has three full moons.

In the 1940s, a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine researching the term thought it was referring to a second full moon in a single month.

The popularity of the term was bolstered by its use for many years on the popular public radio programs "Star Date" and "Earth & Sky."

In addition to the traditional definition of blue moon, this particular blue moon may truly be blue in fact for people in Georgia and other parts of the Southeast, thanks to smoke from the ongoing wildfires in south Georgia and north Florida.

Smoke has drifted northward over the past few days, settling in north Georgia, and making skies above Metro Atlanta hazy. Filtered through that haze, the moon may actually appear blue to the naked eye.

After Thursday night's blue moon, the next one won't happen until December 31, 2009.

Comments

[moon-shine.livejournal.com]

You know around here we really do have Blue moons they look as blue as can be
:o)