What is a black and blue moon. Blue Moon

On January 31, 2018, the so-called Blue Moon could be observed in many countries around the world. What is this and how can such a phenomenon affect our lives?

What is Blue Moon

In the scientific community, the Blue Moon is usually called the third full moon in the astronomical season, which has four full moons instead of three. In this case, the calculation is carried out according to the system of the tropical year, which begins on the day of the winter solstice. In accordance with the usual monthly calendar, this term refers to the second full moon in one calendar month.

The name of the phenomenon is not due to the fact that the Moon turns blue; it comes from the English idiomatic expression “Once in a blue moon,” which means a rare event. A very comprehensive definition of it was given back in 1946 by the American amateur astronomer James High Pratt: “Seven times in a 19-year cycle there are years with 13 full moons. This gives us 11 months with one full moon and one month with two. This second one, as far as I understand, will be the Blue Moon.”

Unique match

This is exactly what happened on January 31 of this year. However, this time the situation was, one might say, unique, since the Blue Moon coincided with a partial lunar eclipse and a supermoon - this is the name for the effect when the Earth’s satellite visually increases by 14% (compared to its minimum size), and its brightness increases by 30 %. For example, on January 31, the Moon approached the Earth at a distance of 359 thousand kilometers. The last time such a coincidence of three rather rare astronomical events at once took place in 1982, and it will happen again only in 2037.

In fact, the Moon at this time has the most common color - ash-gray. Sometimes you can actually observe a blue tint in the Earth's satellite, but this is an extremely rare optical effect associated with the peculiarities of the scattering of light rays.

The current Moon is also called “bloody”, since at the moment it emerges from the earth’s shadow, the satellite due to refraction sun rays turns red.

Why is the Blue Moon dangerous?

There are many myths associated with lunar phenomena. Thus, it is believed that on the days of full moons and lunar eclipses, people’s psyches become unstable, they lose control over themselves, as a result, more conflicts, crimes, and accidents occur.

The Moon really influences various processes occurring on Earth. It has been scientifically proven that supermoons cause earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, melting glaciers and others natural disasters. All this is explained by lunar gravity. During the supermoon there are also strong magnetic storms, so many may feel headache and pressure surges. Doctors advise these days to those who have problems with cardiovascular or nervous system, reduce the load as much as possible.

Recently, American scientists conducted a study in which they analyzed more than 13 thousand fatal accidents in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia from 1975 to 2014. Only accidents that occurred at night were considered. It turned out that most of them happened on full moon nights. The number of fatal accidents also increased during supermoons.

But the fact that the position of the Moon in the sky affects the exacerbation mental disorders, increases the likelihood of injuries and epileptic seizures, has not been confirmed. In any case, experts from the University of Washington did not find any pattern here. Although they do not deny that belief in the destructive influence of the Moon can cause a negative psychosomatic effect. And as a result, the person will feel weak, apathetic, and may become a victim of a panic attack.

Blue Moon also threatens equipment failures. NASA is very concerned about this. This time, on January 31, 2018, due to a combination of three astronomical phenomena, the instruments installed on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe, an artificial satellite of the Moon, had to be turned off. “We started the engine to position the satellite in best position- We must keep him in the light for as long as we can. In other words, we minimized the time it spends in the shadows,” comments NASA employee Noah Petro.

In general, there is no mysticism; all problems associated with the Moon are explained by purely physical effects.

When is the Blue Moon in 2018: at what time. Blue moon March 2, 2018.

Residents of Moscow will be able to observe a unique astronomical phenomenon called the “blue moon”. The capital will see a special full moon in March, RIA Novosti clarifies, citing specialists from the city planetarium.

"Blue Moon" is a figurative name for two full moons within one month. The expression is equivalent to our “after the rain on Thursday”. That is, the Moon will not change color, as was recently the case with the “blood” Moon.

Moscow is promised a full moon on March 2 and 31. This happens once every 2-3 years. This occurs because the lunar month is shorter than the earth's. After some time, “extra” days accumulate, and earthlings can see not 12, but 13 full moons a year.

What is Blue Moon?

The expression "Blue Moon" is a translation English term"Blue Moon"
The designation of the event has nothing to do with the color of the Moon. Therefore, it would also be correct to translate it as “Blue Moon.” Although the established translation of the term is “Blue Moon”.

Currently, the term “Blue Moon” refers toan event when two Full Moons occur in one calendar month. At the same time, actuallyThe Blue Moon is the second Full Moon of the month..
Such an event occurs quite rarely. On average, about once every 2.7 years.
A “Double Blue Moon” occurs much less frequently (only a few times every hundred years)..

Idiom with "Blue Moon"

Even a phraseological unit with the term “Blue Moon” appeared in the English language - “Once in a Blue Moon”. And quite popular. It is considered to be one of the ten most common English idioms.
The literal Russian translation of this idiomatic expression is “Once upon a time in a blue (blue) moon.”
In English, this idiom denotes a very rare event or action performed only once or twice a year. Russian equivalent phraseological turn- "After the rain on Thursday".

Blue Moon in different time zones

"Blue Moon" as an event of two Full Moons in one calendar month depends on the calendar used and geographical location(time zone).

For example, in the Julian calendar, which currently differs from the Gregorian calendar by 13 days, months containing two Full Moons will be completely different from the Blue Moon months of the Gregorian calendar.

The influence of time zone is less significant.
For example, in a given month, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), there will be two Full Moons. However, in the same calendar month in other time zones there may be only one Full Moon. This can happen for two reasons: the first Full Moon of the month in a different time zone may be in the previous calendar month, or the second Full Moon may “creep” into the next month.
First case.
The first Full Moon of the month falls on the first day of the calendar month. It may happen that at the time of the Full Moon in some time zones located west of the prime meridian, this month has not yet arrived. Accordingly, in a given month in those regions, unlike the UTC time zone, there will not be two Full Moons.

Second case.
The second Full Moon in the UTC zone falls on the last day of the calendar month. Then in the eastern time zones a situation may arise that at the moment of the Full Moon the next month will begin.

A specific example of Blue Moon's dependence on the time zone.
In Europe there will be a Blue Moon in January 2018. The second Full Moon of this month will occur on January 31st at 13:27 UTC. In the time zones UTC +11 (parts of Sakhalin and Yakutia) and UTC +12 (Kamchatka, Chukotka) at the time of the Full Moon it will already be February 1st. Accordingly, there will be no Blue Moon in these areas in January 2018.

When is Blue Moon?

In the Gregorian calendar, there are 12 or 13 Full Moons during a calendar year.
There may be two, one, or no Full Moons in a calendar month.
Moreover, in almost all calendar months of the year there is exactly one Full Moon.
There can be no Full Moon in a month only in February (“black Moon”).
A Gregorian calendar year contains a month with two Full Moons only if there are 13 Full Moons in that year or no Full Moons in February of that year.
In case in calendar year 13 Full Moons and no Full Moons in February, then this year there will be.
What will the Moon be like during a Blue Moon? A Blue Moon is the second Full Moon of the month. At this moment, the lunar growth is replaced by its decline.

"Blue Moon" in July 2015

Blue Moon was in July 2015. Full moons occurred on July 2 at 5:20 and July 31 at 13:43 Moscow time (UTC +3).The last Blue Moon is the Full Moon on July 31, 2015.
The previous Blue Moon was in August 2012. The second Full Moon occurred on August 31st.


"Double Blue Moon" in 2018

The next Blue Moon will be in thirty months (January 2018).
Full moons will occur on January 2 at 5:24 and January 31 at 16:27 Moscow time (UTC +3, unless changes are made to change the clocks in Russia by that time).
There will be no Full Moons in February (the so-called “black Moon” will occur).
Then Blue Moon will be in March 2018. The first Full Moon will be on March 2 at 3:51, the second on March 31 at 15:37.
That is, in 2018 there will be two “Blue Moons” - “Double Blue Moon”.

"Double Blue Moon"

Double Blue Moon – an event when a calendar year contains two “Blue Moons”. In other words: in two calendar months of one year there are two Full Moons.
The calendar year contains a month with two Full Moons, provided that there are 13 Full Moons in this year or 12 Full Moons in the year, but there is no Full Moon in February. If there are 13 Full Moons in a year and there are no Full Moons in February, then this year there will betwo months with two Full Moons – “Double Blue Moon”. That is, a double “Blue Moon” will occur only in that year of the Gregorian calendar, in which there are 13 Full MoonsFebruary has a “black” Moon on the Full Moon.
A “Double Blue Moon” is a fairly rare event, occurring only a few times per century. Last time There was a double Blue Moon in 1999, the next one will be in 2018, and then only in 2037.
February without a Full Moon, like February without a New Moon (a “black” Moon), occurs on average only once every 23 years. In addition, the thirteenth Full Moon should also occur this year.
If there is a “Double Blue Moon” in a calendar year, then the first “Blue Moon” occurs in January, and the second in March, less often in April, or even less often in May.
In 2018 and 2037, the Blue Moon months are January and March.
In 1999, the first month of the Blue Moon was January. In the UTC time zone, the second month with two Full Moons is March. In more eastern time zones (including Russia) – April. The Full Moon of March 31, 1999, which is the second Blue Moon of 1999, becomes the first Full Moon of April in the East in the West. The second “Blue Moon” in Russia in 1999 was the Full Moon on April 30th.
There cannot be three Blue Moons in one calendar year..

The presence of a Double Blue Moon does not affect the periodicity of Blue Moon years. Since on average there are 7 additional (thirteenth) lunar months (metonic cycle) per 19 solar years. The only exception is when there are two Full Moons in December, and in February next year There are no full moons.

The origin of this interpretation of the term “Blue Moon”

In North American Indian folklore, the twelve Full Moons of the year have their own names. The recurrence (cyclicity) of these Full Moons is the solar year, beginning at the point of the autumnal equinox.
The first Full Moon of the year is the Full Moon closest to the autumn equinox. This Full Moon is called the "Harvest Moon". In addition, it is called “Corn Moon” or “Barley Moon”.
This Full Moon falls during the final period of the grain harvest.
Followed by "Hunter's Moon", then the “Beaver” Full Moon, and so on for nine more Full Moons. And again, having completed the annual cycle, the “Harvest” Full Moon appears.

As noted, twelve Full Moons have their own names. However, during a solar year (the period of time between two successive autumn equinoxes) 13 Full Moons can occur. This additional Full Moon is called “Blue Moon”.

Annual calendars with such folklore names of Full Moons have been compiled and published since 1937 by the American farming magazine "Farmers" Almanac."

The algorithm for inserting the “Blue Moon” into the sequence of twelve named Full Moons was as follows.
The points of the autumn and spring equinox, as well as the points of the summer and winter solstice the solar year was divided into four seasons. There are at least three Full Moons in each season. If a season has a fourth Full Moon, then the third Full Moon of that season was called a "Blue Moon."

In 1943, in an article in the astronomical magazine "Star Quiz", the definition of the event designated by the term "Blue Moon" was significantly simplified. In himAny second Full Moon in a calendar month is called a “Blue Moon.”.

It is believed that it isSince then, the phrase “Once in a Blue Moon” has appeared in English..

Hypothesis about the antiquity of the term “Blue Moon”

Let's compare the facts already given about the term "Blue Moon" and the idiom "Once in a Blue Moon".
First, the current popularity of the idiomatic expression.
Secondly, the recent emergence of phraseological units.
Thirdly, the folklore nature of the Indian names for Full Moons.
Fourthly, a stable sequence of Full Moons that has developed over centuries with a strict reference to solar year.

The following picture emerges.
The idiom appeared quite recently (in the middle of the last century), and in a magazine for a very narrow circle of readers. The presence of the Blue Moon in any year of the calendar was not some super-interesting event that deserved special attention.
Now this idiom with “Blue Moon” has become very common and is one of the ten popular phrases in English. How and why did it become so popular?

Europeans used solar calendars during the colonization of America.
First Julian, then Gregorian. Apparently for them, the insertion of a Full Moon into a successive series of Full Moons was a very rare and unclear event that happened.

We believe that the term “Blue Moon” denotes an intercalary (13th lunar month) in the lunisolar calendar and the idiom “Once in a Blue Moon” has much more ancient roots than the middle of the 20th century.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “Once in a Blue Moon”, denoting a very rare and incomprehensible occurrence of a phenomenon that exactly coincides with the situation with inserts lunar months when there is a rare event and from the outside it seems that there is not enough clarity and uniformity. In addition, both calculation errors and arbitrariness in the Blue Moon inserts are quite possible.

Moreover, it is quite possible that the original source of the Blue Moon idiom has even more ancient roots.
At a time when it was in usepurely moon calendar without reference to the solar year. Lunar year consisted of exactly 12 lunar months and in each lunar month– exactly one Full Moon. In principle, there could not be a second Full Moon in a lunar month.
Then the progenitor of the idiom “Once in a Blue Moon” denotes an event that certainly will never happen. An analogue of the Russian “when the crayfish whistles on the mountain.”

The expression “Blue Moon” is a translation of the English term “Blue Moon”.
The designation of the event has nothing to do with the color of the Moon. Therefore, it would also be correct to translate it as “Blue Moon.” Although the established translation of the term is “Blue Moon”.

Currently, the term “Blue Moon” refers to. At the same time, actually.
Such an event occurs quite rarely. On average, about once every 2.7 years.
.

Idiom with "Blue Moon"

Even a phraseological unit with the term “Blue Moon” appeared in the English language - “Once in a Blue Moon”. And quite popular. It is considered to be one of the ten most common English idioms.
The literal Russian translation of this idiomatic expression is “Once upon a time in a blue (blue) moon.”
In English, this idiom denotes a very rare event or action performed only once or twice a year. The Russian equivalent phraseological phrase is “After the rain on Thursday.”

Blue Moon in different time zones

A Blue Moon, as an event of two Full Moons in one calendar month, depends on the calendar used and the geographic location (time zone).

For example, in the Julian calendar, which currently differs from the Gregorian calendar by 13 days, months containing two Full Moons will be completely different from the Blue Moon months of the Gregorian calendar.

The influence of time zone is less significant.
For example, in a given month, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), there will be two Full Moons. However, in the same calendar month in other time zones there may be only one Full Moon. This can happen for two reasons: the first Full Moon of the month in a different time zone may be in the previous calendar month, or the second Full Moon may “creep” into the next month.
First case.
The first Full Moon of the month falls on the first day of the calendar month. It may happen that at the time of the Full Moon in some time zones located west of the prime meridian, this month has not yet arrived. Accordingly, in a given month in those regions, unlike the UTC time zone, there will not be two Full Moons.

Second case.
The second Full Moon in the UTC zone falls on the last day of the calendar month. Then in the eastern time zones a situation may arise that at the moment of the Full Moon the next month will begin.

A specific example of Blue Moon's dependence on the time zone.
. The second Full Moon of this month will occur on January 31st at 13:27 UTC. In the time zones UTC +11 (parts of Sakhalin and Yakutia) and UTC +12 (Kamchatka, Chukotka) at the time of the Full Moon it will already be February 1st. Accordingly, there will be no Blue Moon in these areas in January 2018.

When is Blue Moon?

In the Gregorian calendar, there are 12 or 13 Full Moons during a calendar year.
There may be two, one, or no Full Moons in a calendar month.
Moreover, in almost all calendar months of the year there is exactly one Full Moon.
There can be no Full Moon in a month only in February (“black Moon”).
A Gregorian calendar year contains a month with two Full Moons only if there are 13 Full Moons in that year or no Full Moons in February of that year.
If there are 13 Full Moons in a calendar year and there are no Full Moons in February, then this year there will be.
What will the Moon be like during a Blue Moon? The Blue Moon is the second Full Moon of the month. At this moment, the lunar growth is replaced by its decline.

"Blue Moon" in July 2015

Blue Moon was in July 2015. Full moons occurred on July 2 at 5:20 and July 31 at 13:43 Moscow time (UTC +3). The last Blue Moon is the Full Moon on July 31, 2015.
The previous Blue Moon was in August 2012. The second Full Moon occurred on August 31st.


After this, the Blue Moon will only occur on October 31, 2020.

"Double Blue Moon"

Double Blue Moon – an event when a calendar year contains two “Blue Moons”. In other words: in two calendar months of one year there are two Full Moons.
The calendar year contains a month with two Full Moons, provided that there are 13 Full Moons in this year or 12 Full Moons in the year, but there is no Full Moon in February. If there are 13 Full Moons in a year and there are no Full Moons in February, then this year there will be. That is, a double “Blue Moon” will occur only in that year of the Gregorian calendar in which there are 13 Full Moons and in February there is a “black” Moon according to the Full Moon.
A “Double Blue Moon” is a fairly rare event, occurring only a few times per century. The last Double Blue Moon was in 1999, the next one will be in 2018, and then not until 2037.
February without a Full Moon, like February without a New Moon (the “black” Moon), occurs on average only once every 23 years. In addition, the thirteenth Full Moon should also occur this year.
If there is a “Double Blue Moon” in a calendar year, then the first “Blue Moon” occurs in January, and the second in March, less often in April, or even less often in May.
In 2018 and 2037, the Blue Moon months are January and March.
In 1999, the first month of the Blue Moon was January. In the UTC time zone, the second month with two Full Moons is March. In more eastern time zones (including Russia) – April. The Full Moon of March 31, 1999, which is the second Blue Moon of 1999, becomes the first Full Moon of April in the East in the West. The second “Blue Moon” in Russia in 1999 was the Full Moon on April 30th.
There cannot be three Blue Moons in one calendar year..

The presence of a Double Blue Moon does not affect the periodicity of Blue Moon years. Since on average there are 7 additional (thirteenth) lunar months (metonic cycle) per 19 solar years. The only exception is when there are two Full Moons in December, and no Full Moons in February of the following year.

The origin of this interpretation of the term “Blue Moon”

In North American Indian folklore, the twelve Full Moons of the year have their own names. The recurrence (cyclicity) of these Full Moons is the solar year, beginning at the point of the autumnal equinox.
The first Full Moon of the year is the Full Moon closest to the autumn equinox. This Full Moon is called the "Harvest Moon". In addition, it is called “Corn Moon” or “Barley Moon”.
This Full Moon falls during the final period of the grain harvest.
Next comes the "Hunter's Moon", then the "Beaver" Full Moon ("Beaver Moon") and so on for nine more Full Moons. And again, having completed the annual cycle, the “Harvest” Full Moon appears.

As noted, twelve Full Moons have their own names. However, during a solar year (the period of time between two successive autumn equinoxes) 13 Full Moons can occur. This additional Full Moon is called “Blue Moon”.

Annual calendars with such folklore names of Full Moons have been compiled and published since 1937 by the American farming magazine "Farmers" Almanac."

The algorithm for inserting the “Blue Moon” into the sequence of twelve named Full Moons was as follows.
The solar year was divided into four seasons by the points of the autumn and spring equinoxes, as well as by the points of the summer and winter solstices. There are at least three Full Moons in each season. If a season has a fourth Full Moon, then the third Full Moon of that season was called a "Blue Moon."

In 1943, in an article in the astronomical magazine "Star Quiz", the definition of the event designated by the term "Blue Moon" was significantly simplified. In him Any second Full Moon in a calendar month is called a “Blue Moon.”.

It is believed that exactly.

Hypothesis about the antiquity of the term “Blue Moon”

Let's compare the facts already given about the term "Blue Moon" and the idiom "Once in a Blue Moon".
First, the current popularity of the idiomatic expression.
Secondly, the recent emergence of phraseological units.
Thirdly, the folklore nature of the Indian names for Full Moons.
Fourthly, there is a stable sequence of Full Moons that has developed over centuries and is strictly tied to the solar year.

The following picture emerges.
The idiom appeared quite recently (in the middle of the last century), and in a magazine for a very narrow circle of readers. The presence of the Blue Moon in any year of the calendar was not some super-interesting event that deserved special attention.
Now this idiom with “Blue Moon” has become very common and is one of the ten popular expressions in the English language. How and why did it become so popular?

Europeans used solar calendars during the colonization of America.
First Julian, then Gregorian. Apparently for them, the insertion of a Full Moon into a successive series of Full Moons was a very rare and unclear event that happened.

We believe that The term “Blue Moon” refers to the intercalary (13th lunar month) in the lunisolar calendar, and the idiom “Once in a Blue Moon” has roots much older than the mid-20th century.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “Once in a Blue Moon”, denoting a very rare and incomprehensible event occurring when it exactly coincides with the situation with intercalary lunar months, when there is a rare event and from the outside it seems that there is not enough clarity and uniformity. In addition, both calculation errors and arbitrariness in the Blue Moon inserts are quite possible.

Moreover, it is quite possible that the original source of the Blue Moon idiom has even more ancient roots.
At a time when a purely lunar calendar was in use without reference to the solar year. The lunar year consisted of exactly 12 lunar months and in each lunar month there was exactly one Full Moon. In principle, there could not be a second Full Moon in a lunar month.
Then the progenitor of the idiom “Once in a Blue Moon” denotes an event that certainly will never happen. An analogue of the Russian “when the crayfish whistles on the mountain.”

Blue moon is an astronomical term that has two meanings.

1. Traditional (seasonal) - A “Blue Moon” is the third full moon in an astronomical season that has four full moons instead of three. In this case, chronology is carried out according to a system with a tropical year, in which the beginning of the year is considered to be the day of the winter solstice.

2. Modern (monthly) - The “Blue Moon” is the second full moon that occurs in one calendar month.

This phenomenon occurs every 3-4 years, when the date of one of the full moons falls at the beginning of a calendar month, and the next one occurs just before the end of the same month.

The appearance of a blue tint on the Moon is an extremely rare phenomenon due to an optical effect.

The moon may acquire bluish tint in rare cases. For example, on cold winter nights, when ice crystals in the air form a halo around the moon, dissipation occurs moonlight, which causes this effect (light from the blue part of the spectrum is scattered in the atmosphere much better than the red part).

It is known that light with wavelengths corresponding blue color and its shades, is better diffused in earth's atmosphere. This occurs due to the fact that the frequency of the scattered light is significantly lower than the natural frequency of the molecules; a similar phenomenon in physics is called Rayleigh scattering. The same thing happens when the Moon takes on a blue tint. In this case, light is scattered not only by air molecules, but also by dust particles produced by large fires or volcanic eruptions. For example, in Alberta (one of the provinces of Canada), after a strong fire in peat bogs On September 23, 1950, which had previously smoldered slowly for many years, thick smoke containing particles measuring about 1 micrometer in diameter spread to the south and east of the country. Thanks to this, the moon and even the Sun, visible during the day, acquired lavender and blue shades.

In addition, an unusual shade of the moon can appear as a result of a volcanic eruption, for example, in 1883, the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted, which was so powerful that columns of ash rose into the air. top part atmosphere. The ash particles absorbed the red wavelengths of the spectrum, causing the moon to appear blue (sometimes green) for several years. Volcanologist Scott Rowland from the University of Hawaii said the sun turned lavender and the sunsets were so bright red that in New York and some other cities people called firefighters, expecting a fire.

The rarity of such events as the moon having a bluish tint gave rise to the English proverb “Once in a blue moon”, i.e. something that happens very rarely.

The next additional full moon on our planet will be seen on January 31, 2018, but only residents of time zones located closer to the west will see the Blue Moon.

The name comes not from the color of our satellite, but from the English “Once in a blue Moon,” which translates as: “Once upon a blue moon.” This corresponds to our expressions: “After the rain on Thursday”, “When the cancer whistles on the mountain”, that is, very rarely or never.

So, with the light hand of the English-speaking population, the double term “blue moon” entered our everyday life.

True, it is observed in nature, but very rarely, when the moon actually acquires a blue tint. The point is that the light short lengths waves (blue, violet) are better scattered in the atmosphere. When light is scattered not only by air molecules, but also by dust particles from fires, volcanic eruptions, then a bluish tint appears on the moon.

In September 1950, in the Canadian province of Alberta, people saw the moon and sun in blue and pale lilac colors. This was facilitated by thick smoke containing ash particles from an extensive and long-lasting fire in the peat bogs.
Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

In 1883, the powerful Krakatoa volcano erupted into the atmosphere, a lot of ash containing particles that contributed to the absorption of waves of red, yellow, orange color. As a result, a blue moon was observed for some time.

The massive eruption of Pinatubo in 1991 also turned the moon blue.

In addition, such an optical effect can be observed in winter, when the accumulation of ice crystals around the moon actively scatters blue light.

Since this is very rare, people who are lucky enough to see such a moon make a wish, like during a starfall.

Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

In astronomy, the term "blue moon" is used to refer to the second full moon observed in a calendar month ( modern definition) or third in the astronomical season (traditional, or seasonal definition).

The closest examples: the full moon was observed on January 2 and 31, March 2 and 31 of the current year. The next similar event will occur on October 1 and 31, 2020. This is what applies to two full moons in one calendar month.

The situation with seasonal definition is a little more complicated. As a rule, there are three full moons in the seasons (winter, spring, summer, autumn). Previously, the beginning of the seasons was determined by the days of winter and summer solstices, spring and autumn equinoxes.

The first and last full moons of the seasons had important religious and everyday significance - they determined the beginning of any field work or hunting seasons. These full moons had their own names.

For example, the last full moon of winter was called Lenten, the first full moon spring was called Egg.

The Indians had the following names for blue moons: Sturgeon Moon, Green Corn Moon and others.

Photo: pixabay.com

If there were four full moons in a season, then the third (“extra”, rare) was called a blue moon. The fourth could not be called blue, because it already had its traditional name.

  • The closest blue moons by traditional definition will be observed on May 18, 2019 and August 22, 2021.
  • By the way, the second full moon of January of this year -2018 - is one of the rarest phenomena nature: on January 31, the Moon was in the full stage in relation to the Earth lunar eclipse, which is called a blood moon. In addition, a supermoon was observed on this day. This means that the Moon in the full moon phase came as close as possible to the Earth.

Some scientists believe that terrible catastrophes and natural disasters occur during a supermoon.

  • So, on the day of the supermoon in 2005, a huge tsunami hit the Indonesian coast, killing more than 250 thousand people, and a major earthquake occurred in Pakistan.
  • During the supermoon of 2011, a man-made disaster occurred at the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Nowadays Chinese medicine based on the phases of the moon. Doctors say that medications should be taken taking into account the lunar phases.
Photo: pixabay.com

It is interesting that until now experts do not have a common opinion on the origin of the Earth’s satellite. Among the various hypotheses there is a theory about the artificial origin of the Moon. There are even suggestions that this spaceship distant alien civilization.

Be that as it may, our descendants have yet to find out where it came from and whether it really has such a huge impact on the life of our planet.

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