Blue Moon Today - 31 Aug. 2012

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We have two full moons in the month of August. One happened last Aug. 1 and the other one is today, Aug. 31. It is called blue moon not because the moon is blue. It is the 2nd full moon in a month. The term "blue moon" is not from the distant past. It was a term used by the farmers in Maines Famers Almanac to refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. James Pruett, an amateur astronomer read the term from the said almanac in 1946. He misinterpreted the phrase and thought it was the second full moon of the month. He wrote an article in Sky and Telescope magazine and used the meaning of the term. The new meaning got stuck and that is what we term now as Blue Moon. The last blue moon was in March 2010. The next one will be around 2015.

We have two full moons in the month of August. One happened last Aug. 1 and the other one is today, Aug. 31. It is called blue moon not because the moon is blue. It is the 2nd full moon in a month.

The term "blue moon" is not from the distant past. It was a term used by the farmers in Maines Famers Almanac to refer to the third full moon in a season with four full moons. James Pruett, an amateur astronomer read the term from the said almanac in 1946. He misinterpreted the phrase and thought it was the second full moon of the month. He wrote an article in Sky and Telescope magazine and used the meaning of the term. The new meaning got stuck and that is what we term now as Blue Moon.

The last blue moon was in March 2010. The next one will be around 2015.