And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
NATURE WATCH
Blue-moon event: Two full moons
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/361/city/Blue_moon_event__Two_full_moons+
.shtml
By Tom Long, Globe Staff , 12/27/98
nly once in a blue moon does the New Year begin with
a full moon, and 1999 is one of them. And this January
we'll have not one full moon, but two, on Jan. 1 and 31.
That generally happens only once every 32 months. This
year is different. We have to wait only a month. Because the
second full moon in January falls on the last day of the
month, and because February is a short month, there will be
no full moon in February, and we'll have two in March,
something that happens ... once in a blue moon.
The origin of the phrase ''once in a blue moon'' is unclear. It
could be an allusion to the rare phenomenon when the moon
does appear blue because of large amounts of dust in the
atmosphere. That occurred after the massive eruption of the
volcano Krakatoa in 1883, and after a huge forest fire in
Canada in 1950.
The current usage of the phrase ''blue moon'' to mean the
second full moon in a month is more recent. No one seems
to know when or how the usage began, but the Griffith
Observer, a journal published by the Griffith Observatory in
Los Angeles, has speculated that the phrase originated from
the rare physical event of a blue moon, and was then applied
to the much-less-rare second full moon in a month.
Jan. 1 - Full moon. Native Americans called it the Wolf
Moon.
Jan. 3 - The earth reaches its closest point to the sun, about
91 million miles. But, because the earth tilts on its axis, we
experience our coldest weather.
Jan. 4 - The Quadrantid Meteor shower peaks. Look for the
streaks of light just before dawn in the Northeast.
Jan. 5 - Twelfth night. According to the ancients, animals
can talk tonight. Ask the dog why he barks at the mailman.
Jan. 10 - Beneath the back yard, a chipmunk awakens for
an acorn snack. This ground squirrel's body weight won't
carry it through winter, so it often awakens to munch on the
nuts and berries it collected earlier. Their burrows are up to
12 feet in length and may include a storage chamber, sleeping
room, refuse center and latrine as well as several
well-concealed exits.
Jan. 12 - With the trees bare of leaves, it's a good time to
spot squirrel nests. They're balls of leaves about the size
of a
basketball.
Jan. 15 - A glossy-leafed holly tree provides a rare patch of
green on the edge of a clearing in Plymouth. It may stand on
the former site of an Indian encampment. Native Americans
often planted holly trees near their homes. They considered
them a symbol of courage and eternal life.
Jan. 21 - The days are getting longer. Today we have 9
hours and 36 minutes of daylight. That's 31 minutes more
than on Dec. 21, the shortest day.
Jan. 31 - The month's second full moon. Local Indians
called it the Hunger Moon. Early settlers thought two full
moons in a month was a portent of disaster.
This story ran on page 08 of the Boston Globe's City Weekly
on 12/27/98.
� Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.
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