2007-06-01 18:01:05 · 7 answers · asked by beyondthelimit 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Once in a Blue Moon ... is a common way of saying not very often, but what exactly is a Blue Moon?
According to the popular definition, it is the second Full Moon to occur in a single calendar month.
The average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days, whilst the length of an average month is roughly 30.5 days. This makes it very unlikely that any given month will contain two Full Moons, though it does sometimes happen.
On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and-a-half years.
2007-06-01 18:10:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not very, therefore the phrase "Only once in a blue moon". A blue moon is when there are two full moons inside the same calendar month.
From what I can find there's a blue moon in June 2007 (full moons on June 1 and June 30) and then no more until December 2009 (full moons on December 2 and December 31). And then not again until August 2012 (Aug. 2 and Aug. 31).
Check this site out:
http://www.obliquity.com/cgi-bin/bluemoon.cgi
2007-06-01 18:09:31 · answer #2 · answered by mblaine 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and-a-half years.
2007-06-01 22:43:00 · answer #3 · answered by dighalbank 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The phrase "Once in a blue Moon" was first noted in 1824 and refers to occurrences that are uncommon, though not truly rare. Yet, to have two full Moons in the same month is not as uncommon as one might think. In fact, it occurs, on average, about every 32 months. And in the year 1999, it occurred twice in a span of just three months!
Have fun!
2007-06-01 18:42:27 · answer #4 · answered by Stratman 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
once in a blue moon
2007-06-01 18:03:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Since there are thirteen monts in a year and we only reckoned twelve, causes to have One or as many as two blue moons in one our gregorian calendan month.
2007-06-01 18:09:33 · answer #6 · answered by goring 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not often, but it has happened 2 times this year...weirdness.
2007-06-01 18:08:13 · answer #7 · answered by LadeeBug Buddha 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋