Once In A Blue Moon...

...And that blue moon is tonite. The second full moon in any month happens to happen this month.

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Posted at 10:12 AM ET, 08/31/2012 TheWashingtonPost

Blue moon: one small mistake, giant folklore for the sky

By Blaine Friedlander

If you call old friends on your smart phone only once in a blue moon, start dialing: Today is your day.

For an event that happens about once every 2.7 years, enjoy the full moon – because it’s a Blue Moon… on a Friday… just in time for happy hour.

Modern folklore defines a blue moon as the second full moon in a given month. Washington’s last full moon fell officially on Aug. 1 at 11:27 p.m. (Aug. 2, 3:27 a.m., Universal Time.)

Today’s full moon officially was at 9:58 a.m. here. Remain seated at your desks and don’t bother looking right now, because you can’t see it until this evening.

There are several news reports telling people to look for the moon in the morning. If you believe those reports, you’ll be looking a long time. The full moon is essentially opposite from the sun right now – from our earthly perspective. So while the sun is up today, the full moon is not visible.

Tonight’s moon rises in the eastern heavens at 7:25 p.m., moments before sunset in the western sky at 7:39 p.m.

The next blue moon occurs on July 31, 2015. We get two blue moons in 2018 when they fall within January and March. (Always deprived of days, February 2018 gets no respect and no full moon.)

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My blue moon every night of the year!