end of the world coming up: New Year's Eve to have rare blue moon

[The Straight Story]

New Year's Eve to have rare blue moon


WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Thursday's New Year's Eve's moon will be the second full moon this month, which makes it a rare blue moon, U.S. meteorologists said.

Blue moon is used to describe the rarity of the event, rather than the color of the moon, which will be the usual color.

Each calendar year usually has 12 full moons, one per month. But each calendar year also contains an excess of about 11 days, so every two or three years a month will have two full moons rather than one.

Storm systems likely will block a clear viewing of this blue moon in much of the eastern and western parts of the nation, Accuweather.com reported Wednesday.

Blue moon also is used as an idiomatic expression in phrases such as "once in a blue moon."

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2009/12/30/New-Years-Eve-to-have-rare-blue-moon/UPI-64411262194684/

It's a sign! Look for big explosions, shiny things, ufos, and Jesus coming back on a trailer hitch.

[Mari333]

1. It will if I sit in the snow, too.

[hedgehog]

2. Not only that, but my calender stops at December 31, 2009!

:scared:

[Xipe Totec]

3. They are not so rare; my fridge is full of them n/t

[Blue Owl]

4. Blue moon in your eye...

Reminds me of that groove-laden Sopranos theme song!

[lapfog_1]

5. It's actually not one.

Found out an interesting fact when reading an article on this "Blue Moon" on CNN (I think). It's not. The term was first used by the Farmer's Almanac more than 100 years ago to describe the "fourth full moon of a season". Some editor at Sky and Telescope mis-reported it (in like 1934 or so) as the second full moon of a given month.

The wrong definition has been with us ever since.

This being the first full moon of the winter season, it's not a "Blue Moon".

[damntexdem]

6. Wow, ends of the world like that only happen once in a blue moon!

Don't worry -- I have a call in to Chicken Little. ;-)