Tag Archives: moon

Turn your eyes skyward tonight for a look at the “super moon”

Be sure to check out the 'super moon' Saturday night.
Be sure to check out the 'super moon' Saturday night. (Wikipedia)

If you get outside after dark tonight be sure to turn your eyes skyward and you will be treated to a rare celestial event.  The moon will be full and it will appear considerably larger than normal as it is at its closest to Earth in 18 years.

NASA explains that full moon vary in size because of the oval orbital path our only natural satellite takes.  Tonight the moon will be at its perigee – its closest point to the Earth which is about 31,000 miles closer than when it is at its farthest (apogee).

The end result is a moon that appears 14% bigger and an astonishing 30% brighter.

Where should you look?

Sunset occurs today at 7:09pm here in Thornton and the moon will soon follow rising at 7:37pm in the east and should appear to be its biggest at that point.  It won’t be setting until early Sunday morning at 6:38 so you have plenty of time to enjoy the show but the start this evening will be the best time to get the full effect.

While it may appear close, the moon will still be 211,600 miles away so there is no danger of it crashing into us.  😉

The video from NASA below has more details:

Slideshow of images from the blue moon and other random pictures

A New Year's Eve blue moon over Thornton. (ThorntonWeather.com)
A New Year's Eve blue moon over Thornton. (ThorntonWeather.com)

Thornton was treated to a rare New Year’s Eve blue moon and clear weather conditions to allow near perfect viewing of it.  While blue moons are relatively common occuring roughly every 2 1/2 years, they only occur on New Year’s Eve every 19 years. 

The first couple images in the slideshow below are from that night and the others from the night of New Year’s Day.  The other photos were taken the morning of January 2nd as the moon set in the west and then a few pictures of stuff in the ThorntonWeather.com backyard are included.

Remember, if you ever capture great images around Thornton, feel free to email them to us (info@thorntonweather.com) and we will share them on ThorntonWeather.com.

Rare New Year’s Eve blue moon to shine over the nation

The first New Years Eve blue moon in 19 years will shine on revelers this year. (NASA)
The first New Year's Eve blue moon in 19 years will shine on revelers this year. (NASA)

A relatively rare New Year’s Eve blue moon will be shining down on revelers as they ring in 2010. Blue moons are relatively common but it has been 19 years since one was coupled with December 31st and it will be another 19 years before another occurs.

Since the 1940s the term ‘blue moon’ has come to mean the second full moon in any given month. Full moons occur every 29.5 days so most years have 12 full moons. When the calendar aligns just right though, an ‘extra’ full moon can occur. The blue moon occurs every 2 years, 7 months so given its relatively infrequency, one can understand where the phrase ‘once in a blue moon’ got its meaning.

That current definition of ‘blue moon’ actually came about as a mistake. The phrase itself has been around for at least 400 years. Prior to the 1940s the Maine Farmers’ Almanac tied the event to the seasons saying a blue moon was the fourth full moon in a season rather than the usual three. Its explanation however was entirely convoluted and difficult to understand.

In 1946 the magazine Sky & Telescope published an article titled “Once in a Blue Moon” and in it the author misinterpreted the almanac saying the “second [full moon] in a month, so I interpret it, is called Blue Moon.” This mistake caught on in modern folklore and continues to this very day.

There's more to this story on the Denver Weather Examiner's site!Get more details about whether or not a ‘blue moon’ is really blue and other interesting history in the complete article on the Denver Weather Examiner.