<p> Bangalore and other Indian cities would witness the “Blue Moon” day on Friday, a rare occurrence in which two full moons are visible in a single calendar month. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to a note by Mumbai Nehru Planetarium Director Arvind Paranjape, the normal interval between two full moons is twenty-nine-and-a-half days, which is just short of the calendar month with 30 or 31 days, which usually means that there is one full moon each month.<br /><br />However, when the full moon occurs on the first day of the month, a recurrence is witnessed in the same calendar month. <br /><br />Though this may happen in any month of the year, February is an unlikely time for a “blue Moon” given that it has only 29 days even on a leap year. <br /><br />“However, whether a particular place will have a Blue Moon or not, will be determined by its time zone. The exact time of August 31, 2012 full moon to the nearest minute is 7:28 pm IST,” Paranjpye said in the note. <br /><br />“Nearly everywhere in the world, it will be the Blue Moon day on August 31. But for places like Auckland or Wellington in New Zealand which are in time zone +12 it will be September 1. These cities will ‘have’ the Blue Moon on September 30.”<br /><br />The ‘Blue Moon’ occurs roughly once in two and a half years and the last one was witnessed on March 30, 2010. <br /><br />The term “Blue Moon” is popularised by modern astronomy writers who wanted to draw attention to the ‘second full moon’ in a calendar month, but the term has also crept into the common usage through terms like “once in a blue moon”. <br /><br />There have also been references to the full moon with blue hue while viewed through the smoke emerging from forest fires or through ashes of erupting volcanoes. <br /><br />“As we had good rains in many parts across the country the rising full moon of August 31, soon after the sunset should offer a good viewing pleasure. Rains would have washed away the floating dust in the atmosphere and the Moon should look bright and soothing to the eyes,” Paranjpye’s note said. <br /><br />However, with the on-set of rain over Bangalore and elsewhere leaving a permanent cloud cover over the skies, we could only hope for the curtains to depart to get a glimpse of the Blue Moon on Friday.</p>
<p> Bangalore and other Indian cities would witness the “Blue Moon” day on Friday, a rare occurrence in which two full moons are visible in a single calendar month. <br /><br /></p>.<p>According to a note by Mumbai Nehru Planetarium Director Arvind Paranjape, the normal interval between two full moons is twenty-nine-and-a-half days, which is just short of the calendar month with 30 or 31 days, which usually means that there is one full moon each month.<br /><br />However, when the full moon occurs on the first day of the month, a recurrence is witnessed in the same calendar month. <br /><br />Though this may happen in any month of the year, February is an unlikely time for a “blue Moon” given that it has only 29 days even on a leap year. <br /><br />“However, whether a particular place will have a Blue Moon or not, will be determined by its time zone. The exact time of August 31, 2012 full moon to the nearest minute is 7:28 pm IST,” Paranjpye said in the note. <br /><br />“Nearly everywhere in the world, it will be the Blue Moon day on August 31. But for places like Auckland or Wellington in New Zealand which are in time zone +12 it will be September 1. These cities will ‘have’ the Blue Moon on September 30.”<br /><br />The ‘Blue Moon’ occurs roughly once in two and a half years and the last one was witnessed on March 30, 2010. <br /><br />The term “Blue Moon” is popularised by modern astronomy writers who wanted to draw attention to the ‘second full moon’ in a calendar month, but the term has also crept into the common usage through terms like “once in a blue moon”. <br /><br />There have also been references to the full moon with blue hue while viewed through the smoke emerging from forest fires or through ashes of erupting volcanoes. <br /><br />“As we had good rains in many parts across the country the rising full moon of August 31, soon after the sunset should offer a good viewing pleasure. Rains would have washed away the floating dust in the atmosphere and the Moon should look bright and soothing to the eyes,” Paranjpye’s note said. <br /><br />However, with the on-set of rain over Bangalore and elsewhere leaving a permanent cloud cover over the skies, we could only hope for the curtains to depart to get a glimpse of the Blue Moon on Friday.</p>
