![]() ![]() It takes 29.53 days for the Moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases. This refers to how many days it has been since the last New Moon. The illumination is constantly changing and can vary up to 10% a day. This is the percentage of the Moon illuminated by the Sun. The Waxing Gibbous on August 18 has an illumination of 81%. Visit the August 2021 Moon Phases Calendar to see all the daily moon phase for this month. The word Gibbous first appeared in the 14th century and has its roots in the Latin word "gibbosus" meaning humpbacked. During a Waxing Gibbous the moon rises in the east in mid-afternoon and is high in the eastern sky at sunset. The phase lasts about 7 days with the moon becoming more illuminated each day until the Full Moon. This phase is when the moon is more than 50% illuminated but not yet a Full Moon. Visible through most of the night sky setting a few hours before sunrise. 30, 2023 to be exact.On this day the Moon was in a Waxing Gibbous phase. If you go by the "Pruett two full moons in a month rule," the next blue moon will also come in the month of August - Aug. So, when are the next Blue Moons after this Sunday? Consider this column an updated version for 2021. And as it turns out, the last time we had a blue moon based on the "four full moons in a season" rule was in May 2019. Here at, we have posted many stories regarding the differences between the two blue moon definitions over the years. But nothing out of the ordinary has occurred in recent days or weeks, so this weekend's moon should look pretty much the way we are accustomed to seeing it. In the past, there have been very unusual atmospheric circumstances that have caused the moon (and the sun) to appear bluish, caused by anthropogenic aerosols injected into the atmosphere such as volcanic ash and dust (after the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in August 1883) or airborne soot from forest fires (such as from western Canada in September 1950). ![]() Of course, to everyone who sees it, it will still look full, even though it will be ever-so-slightly out of perfect roundness.Īnd don't expect to see the moon shine with a bluish tint. That means that for North America, the moon phase will be just past full - actually a waning gibbous moon - when it comes over the horizon at nightfall that Sunday evening. The third full moon - the Blue Moon according to the original rule set down by the Maine Farmers' Almanac - comes on Sunday, with the moon officially turning full at 8:02 a.m. ![]() ![]() So, going by the old "Maine Almanac rule," for summer 2021, we have four full moons: June 24, July 23, Aug. History: 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 frigid freezing cool warm cool cold freezing Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Now Now 72 72 34 34 clear overcast precipitation: 3.1 in precipitation: 3.1 in 0.3 in 0.3 in muggy: 10 muggy: 10 0 0 dry dry tourism score: 7.3 tourism score: 7.3 0.0 0. You should not confuse it with The Farmers' Almanac which has been publishing continuously since 1818, but coincidentally also happens to be based in Lewiston, Maine. Meanwhile, the "original" Maine Farmers' Almanac rule had been all but forgotten.Īs was noted earlier, that publication has long since gone out of business. Pruett's misinterpretation gained traction with a new audience of baby boomers, and today his "two full moons in a month rule" is recognized worldwide. Pruett's 1946 explanation was, of course, the wrong interpretation and it might have been completely forgotten were it not for journalist Deborah Byrd, who used it on her popular National Public Radio program, StarDate on Jan. This second in a month, so I interpret it, was called Blue Moon." This gives 11 months with one full moon each and one with two. "Seven times in 19 years there were - and still are - 13 full moons in a year. Pruett unfortunately came to this conclusion: This time, on page 3 of the March 1946 issue, James Hugh Pruett wrote an article, " Once in a Blue Moon," in which he made a reference to the term "Blue Moon" and the S&T article from July 1943. Once again, we must turn to the pages of Sky & Telescope. ![]()
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