Chapter 230830: Flambé’s latest Misadventure ………………. Super Full Blue Moon

Keep on reading to learn more about the August 30th Super Full Blue Moon, blue whales, bluefin tuna, bluebirds, Flambé’s labyrinth challenge and ear worms!

August 30, 2023

The Super Blue Moon

As this Super Blue Moon labyrinth began to appear on the page, Flambé kept humming “Blue Moon,” a song written way back in 1934 by Richard Rogers (of Rogers and Hammerstein) and Lorenz Hart.  You know the one …….. “Blue Moon, You saw me standing alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own.”  But as the words got stuck in my head (ear worms can be so annoying, huh?), I reminded Kat that as this Super Blue Moon rises, it won’t be alone. In the Northern Hemisphere, look just above and to the right of the Moon, and you’ll see the planet Saturn. And it will track with the Moon all night. (Special note …. If you happen to be observing this Moon rise in the Southern Hemisphere, look just below and a bit to the left to find Saturn, because the southern celestial sky appears upside down to us northerners!)

Attempting to quiet Flambé as she continued to hum Blue Moon, I distracted her with promises of feasting on a fishy bluefin tuna. This prompted her to run through the labyrinth at high speed, where she dropped into a pool of Moon Pies (tasty) that were about to become smashed to smithereens on piles of Moon Rocks being mercilessly lashed by Moon Waves which were being driven by a flock of Blue Whales! A passing Bluebird stopped to witness the chaos and broke out in bird laughter, which was really his repertoire of sweet melodies, that finally dislodged my pesky and slightly ticklish ear worm, becoming a snack for the bird! The Bluebird, now singing “Blue Moon” (sorry about that), flew away to digest the worm, and as Kat nibbled on the Bluefin tuna’s tail, I was able to put finishing touches on my composition, while refreshing my memory on Blue Moon and Supermoon fun facts.

Blue Moon Fun Facts

Blue Moons occur only once every 33 months, or about seven times in 19 years, or 41 times a century.  The last Blue Moon rose on August 21, 2021, as the third of four full moons in a single season, with a season falling between solstice and equinox. An even rarer event is when two blue moons happen in the same calendar year, which occurs only four times a century.

The last Blue Moon noted above is called a seasonal Blue Moon, where the August 30, 2023 Blue Moon is referred to as a calendrical Blue Moon because it’s the second Full Moon in a month. But it’s important to remember that “Blue Moon,” like “Supermoon,” isn’t really an astronomical term.

Supermoon Fun Facts Refresher

A Supermoon occurs when the Full Moon coincides with perigee; when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth. During this time, the Full Moon appears slightly larger (7% larger) and brighter, which may not be detectable by the casual observer. 

The average distance to the moon is 238,855 miles. But because the Moon’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle, during perigee on August 30th, the Moon will be 221,942 miles away from Earth. This earns it the label “Suoermoon” or “Super Full Moon” or “Super Full Blue Moon!”

In reality, the Moon can be that close (221,942 miles away) during any Moon phase. It’s just more noticeable when she’s Full.

That’s All for this month. Until next month and our next Full Moon, don’t forget to look up!

As always, Flambé invites you to follow her Zentangle-inspired antics (ZIAs) by visiting her page called Tangled Up, to see what trouble she always seems to find, past and present.