From jayabarathi Sun Apr 4 00:58:26 1999
Delivered-To: listsaver-of-agathiyar@egroups.com
Mailing-List: contact agathiyar-owner@egroups.com
X-Mailing-List: agathiyar@egroups.com
X-URL: http://www.egroups.com/list/agathiyar/
Reply-To: agathiyar@egroups.com
Delivered-To: listsaver-egroups-agathiyar@egroups.com
Received: (qmail 19335 invoked by uid 7770); 4 Apr 1999 08:58:23 -0000
Received: from pop.tm.net.my (HELO pop1.tm.net.my) (202.188.95.1) by vault.egroups.com with SMTP; 4 Apr 1999 08:58:23 -0000
Received: from umlugghc ([202.188.69.121]) by pop1.tm.net.my (InterMail v03.02.05 118 121 101) with SMTP id <19990404085821.ESOE276@umlugghc> for ; Sun, 4 Apr 1999 16:58:21 +0800
Message-Id: <3.0.3.32.19990411150506.007a44f0@...>
X-Sender: jaybee@... (Unverified)
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0.3 (32)
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 15:05:06 +0800
To: agathiyar@egroups.com
From: jayabarathi
Mime-Version: 1.0
Subject: [agathiyar] Blue Moon
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 231


Dear Netters,

Some time ago, there was an exchange about the
term "Blue Moon"- a month having two full-moons where
the second full moon is known as the "Blue Moon".
There have been some researches into this matter
and there was an article in the Sky Publishing Corp.
The "Blue Moon" is actually different.
The article is forwarded for your information.

Regards

Jayabarathi

--------------------------Forwarded----------------------------------
Blue Moon Fever

>From the August 1937 almanac page reproduced in Sky &
Telescope, many readers correctly deduced that the
Blue-Moon rule
involves the seasons. Those who realized that a Blue Moon
is the
third of four full Moons in a season include Charlie
Kluepfel, Silvio
Marazzi, Bruce McCurdy, Jean Meeus, Ted Molczan, Joe Orman,
Jay Respler, and Dan Tilque.

Others suggested that a Blue Moon might be the second full
Moon
under a given astrological sign. But we found no mention of
astrology in any of the almanacs we examined. With some
trepidation we acknowledge John Blaisdell, Joseph L.
Gerver, Willi
Kratzer, Jan N. Pedersen Jr., and Kelley L. Ross for
suggesting this
other way to determine Blue Moons ஹ் a way we hope will notbe
adopted!

Two correspondents correctly predicted the date of the next
Blue
Moon. But Larry Molnar and Bill Petry used the apparent Sunto
define the beginnings of the seasons. By coincidence, the
Maine
rule gives a Blue Moon on February 19, 2000, using eitherthe
mean Sun or the apparent Sun.

What's a Blue Moon?

By Donald W. Olson, Richard
Tresch Fienberg, and Roger W.
Sinnott

Adapted from
Sky & Telescope
May 1999

A 53-year-old mistake in Sky & Telescope changed
pop culture and the English language in unexpected ways.


Recent decades have seen widespread popular embrace
of the idea that when a calendar month contains two full
Moons, the second one is called a "Blue Moon." The
unusual pattern of lunar phases in early 1999 ஹ் two full
Moons each in January and March, and none at all in
February ஹ் has triggered a groundswell of public
interest. Countless newspapers and radio and TV
stations have run stories about Blue Moons.

In an article in Sky & Telescope's March issue (here is
the online version), folklorist Philip Hiscock traced the
calendrical meaning of the term "Blue Moon" to the
Maine Farmers' Almanac for 1937. But a page from that
almanac, displayed in Hiscock's article, belies the
second-full-Moon-in-a-month interpretation, as Donald
Olson and Roger Sinnott pointed out in a companion
article that called for further research.

With help from Margaret Vaverek (Southwest Texas
State University) and several other librarians, we have
now obtained more than 40 editions of the Maine
Farmers' Almanac from the period 1819 to 1962. These
refer to more than a dozen Blue Moons, and not one of
them is the second full Moon in a month. What's going on
here?

Blue Moons and the Seasons

Several clues point to a strong connection between the
almanac's Blue Moons and the four seasons of the year.
All of the listed Blue Moons fall on the 20th, 21st, 22nd,
or 23rd day of November, May, February, or August.
These dates fall about a month before the Northern
Hemisphere winter and summer solstices, and spring and
fall equinoxes, respectively, which occur on similar day
numbers.

Most tropical years contain
12 full Moons ஹ் three each in winter, spring, summer,
and fall ஹ் and each is named for an activity appropriate
to the time of year (such as the Harvest Moon in autumn).
But occasionally a tropical year contains 13 full Moons,
such that one season has four rather than the usual three.

The almanac also follows certain rules laid down as part
of the Gregorian calendar reform in 1582. The
ecclesiastical vernal (spring) equinox always falls on
March 21st, regardless of the position of the Sun. Lent
begins on Ash Wednesday, 46 days before Easter, and
must contain the Lenten Moon, considered to be the last
full Moon of winter. The first full Moon of spring is
called the Egg Moon (or Easter Moon, or Paschal Moon)
and must fall within the week before Easter.

When is the Moon "blue," in a calendricalsense?
According to the Maine
almanac, a Blue Moon occurs
when a season has four full
Moons, rather than the usual
three. This type of Blue Moon
is found only in February,
May, August, and November,
one month before the next
equinox or solstice. According
to modern folklore, a Blue
Moon is the second full Moon
in a calendar month. This type
of Blue Moon can occur in
any month but February,
which is always shorter than
the time between successive full Moons.

At last we have the "Maine rule" for Blue Moons:
Seasonal Moon names are assigned near the spring
equinox in accordance with the ecclesiastical rules for
determining the dates of Easter and Lent. The beginnings
of summer, fall, and winter are determined by the
dynamical mean Sun. When a season contains four full
Moons, the third is called a Blue Moon.
-------------------------------------------------------cut
-- The Next Blue Moon

According to the rule in the Maine Farmers' Almanac,
none of the full Moons in 1999 are "blue." Instead, our
calculations place four full Moons between the winter
solstice of 1999 (determined by the mean Sun) and the
Easter Moon of April 2000. So the next Blue Moon falls
on February 19, 2000.

Don Olson works on historical applications of
astronomy at Southwest Texas State University. Rick
Fienberg joined Sky & Telescope after earning his
Ph.D. in astronomy and now serves as the magazine's
publisher. Associate editor Roger Sinnott edits S&T's
Celestial Calendar.

1999 Sky Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
Please read our copyright and permissions policy.

=======================================================

------------------------------------------------------------------------
eGroup home: http://www.eGroups.com/list/agathiyar
Free Web-based e-mail groups by eGroups.com