Second blue moon of the year is last until 2020 by Allen Cone Washington (UPI) Mar 30, 2018 The last blue moon until 2020 will peak in the sky at 8:37 a.m. EDT Saturday. For the second time this year, a blue moon will appear. The first was in January. Linda Lam, a Weather.com meteorologist, said people living in the South, Southwest and West Coast of the United States have the best chance of seeing the blue moon, but a cold front may block the view along much of the East Coast. The full moon is called a blue moon when it shows up for the second time in the same month. Contrary to the phrase, they are not infrequent -- they occur every 2.7 years. The last time two blue moons appeared within three months was in 1999. "The term 'blue moon' actually has nothing to do with the color of the moon," Accuweather astronomy blogger Dave Samuhel said. "Blue moons are usually the same gray and white color of a regular [full] moon." The moon cycles from one full moon to the next at an average of 29.53 days and is called a "synodic" month. Because February is the only calendar month that is shorter than a synodic month, it did not have a full moon this year -- so March ended up with an extra full moon. The fourth full moon of the year is also known as worm full moon because it comes when earthworms emerge from their winter slumber, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The January blue moon was considered "rare" because it also passed directly through Earth's shadow, producing a total lunar eclipse. The last time that occurred over North America was in 1866. The March blue moon also will be a "Paschal" moon, the first full moon of spring, which began on March 20. In addition, the first Sunday after the Paschal moon is usually designated as Easter Sunday. The last time a blue Paschal moon fell on March 31 and Easter Sunday on April 1 was in 1714. Passover also starts on Friday night. The Jewish holiday starts at sundown on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Nisan -- falling in late March or early April on the Gregorian calendar -- and generally coincides with a full moon.
Roscosmos, NASA to set common standards for first lunar orbit station Moscow (Sputnik) Mar 29, 2018 The Russian and US space agencies will meet next month to set out plans for mankind's first outpost in the moon's orbit, which will include a Russia-built module, a source told Sputnik on Thursday. "A bilateral working meeting will kick off in Houston on April 9, where Russia will present a report on the work it has done on the lunar station to coordinate the integration of a Russian-built sluice module and a US-built super-heavy SLS booster and the Orion spaceship," the space industry source said ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |