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| Image Credit: Pixabay |
Tomorrow there is going to be a "blue moon". Unfortunately, it's not actually blue. The term itself is very misleading. In reality, it's just like any other full moon actually. So why do they call it that you might ask?
In past history, a blue moon was meant to be a way to classify that it is rare. Today, however, the name is given to any full moon that is the second in a calendar month.
The lunar cycle is about 29 and a half days, but months of the year are between 28 and 31 days long. The next blue moon, by this definition, is only going to occur again on January 31, 2018 which is fairly far from now.
Although the concept of a "blue moon" has changed over the years, the concept that we uphold today came about when an amateur astronomer, James Hugh Pruett, wrote an article in 1946 where he defined a blue moon as any second full moon in a calendar month. This definition was incorrect according to tradition but people found it to be more acceptable and thus the term was redefined.
