While the Upper Cumberland prepares to gaze at the sky’s for this weekend’s miniature blue moon, one local astronomy expert said the event is not that uncommon, despite the common misconception.
From Frank Sinatra to colloquial phrases, society’s obsession with blue moons are nothing new. However, Tennessee Tech Astronomy Professor, Dr. Steve Robinson, said blue moons are not even that rare. Instead, Robinson said they usually occur at least once a year. Robinson said weekend stargazers will need an elevated point, outside of city limits with a clear view of the southern sky.
“The period between full moons is about 28 to 29 days and a calendar month is, you know, between 28 and 31 days, so they don’t quite fit together as far as timing goes,” Robinson said. “There’s gonna be a time in the year usually when you get two full moons in one calendar month, one right at the beginning and and one right at the end like we’re getting now. And that’s what a blue moon is, it’s simply a name we give to the second full moon that occurs in the same calendar month. So it’s not that rare.”
Further breaking down the mysticism surrounding blue moons, Robinson said the moon does not have a special hue. Even the minimoon, Robinson said, will be just barely smaller than a normal full moon, and the difference is unlikely to be noticed by the naked, untrained eye. Regardless, Robinson said the event creates an opportunity to go stargazing around the Upper Cumberland.
“To astronomers, it’s nothing special,” Robinson said. “I guess people who believe in things like astrology may see some significance in it, but as far as scientifically, there’s really nothing special about it.”
Robinson said the moon’s oval-shaped orbit around Earth is what causes the variations in moon sizes, like supermoons, minimoons or black moons.
“In general when you’re out stargazing, you need to wait about 15 minutes to allow your eyes to adjust for the dark and that will help you see more stars and other things in the night sky,” Robinson said. “So having dark adjusted vision is is an important thing for stargazing.”
Robinson also said amateur astronomers should look for a bright red star called Antares, in the Scorpio constellation on the same night as the blue moon appearance.
“Scientifically there’s nothing special about them,” Robinson said. “There’s probably a bit of mythology and a bit of amplification by social media occurring when when people get excited about these things. And that’s fine, I mean you know, if that if that encourages people to go out and look at the sky, I’m all for that.”
This week’s blue minimoon will be visible after sunset on Friday and Saturday night, and peak early Sunday morning.
