August 2012 is a month with two full moons. And, by popular acclaim, that means it’s a Blue Moon month – but it’s Blue in name only. That’s because a Blue Moon is sometimes defined as the second full moon in a calendar month. The first full moon is August 1. The second full moon is August 31, 2012.
There are two more definitions for Blue Moon. It can be the third of four full moons in a single season. Or, someday, you might see an actual blue-colored moon.
The August 31 Blue Moon will not be blue in color. This August 2012 Blue Moon will be called Blue because it is the second full moon of a month.
It’s very rare that you would see a blue-colored moon, although unusual sky conditions – certain-sized particles of dust or smoke – can create them. Blue-colored moons aren’t predictable. The sorts of moons people commonly call Blue Moons aren’t usually blue.
Now on to folklore’s Blue Moons. Every month has a full moon, and, most of the time, the names for full moons coincide with particular months or seasons of the year. By either definition, the name Blue Moon accounts for times when there happen to be more full moons than is convenient.
In recent decades, many people have begun using the name Blue Moon to describe the second full moon of a calendar month.
The time between one full moon and the next is close to the length of a calendar month. So the only time one month can have two full moons is when the first full moon happens in the first few days of the month. This happens every 2-3 years, so these sorts of Blue Moons come about that often.
Can there be two blue moons in a single calendar year? Yes. It last happened in 1999. There were two full moons in January and two full moons in March and no full moon in February. So both January and March had Blue Moons.
The next year of double blue moons is coming up in 2018.
For this event we will be meeting Friday, August 31st at 7pm at The Linkletter Restaurant, 301 Market Street in Summerside for food/beverages/fun and then going for a night cache run of 20 First To Find caches that will be released earlier in the evening. Don't worry if you are unable to get a pocket query done as coords will be provided. The first of the caches is half an hours drive away. Please bring a flashlight and maybe eye protection.
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