A Blue Moon to Ring in the New Year

As 2009 gives way to 2010 tomorrow night, the world will be treated to a Blue Moon. No, it won’t change color. A Blue Moon refers to the unusual circumstance of having two full moons in the same month. It happens sufficiently rarely that the phrase “once in a blue Moon” was coined to signal an unlikely event. Not THAT unlikely, though. According to the Associated Press, they occur about every two and a half years. Let’s hope it’s not prophetic — the space program has been singing the blues for far too long. Not to mention that the Moon has turned out to be a pretty exciting place — scientifically speaking!