Moon. Month. Mayhem.

     This year there are going to be 13 full moons instead of 12. This is where the saying “once in a blue moon” comes from because it only happens about every few years.

     The harvest moon is the first full moon that occurs after the autumn equinox,  this happened on Sept. 22 this year. This made the full moon on Oct. 1. It is suggested by some scientists that the double full moon is a mess up in the way the calendar runs. “They call it the Harvest moon because it arrives around sunset and since this allows a bit of extra light, it was used by farmers harvesting crops” says science teacher Timothy Dougherty.

      The second moon will look like a normal full moon, however, it is called a blue moon. This second full moon will occur on Halloween. This double moon will only happen every two and a half to three years according to CNN.

     Having a full moon on halloween only occurs every 19 years so the next full moon on halloween will be in 2039. CNN states “While a blue moon seems rare, a full moon on Halloween across time zones is even more rare — an event that hasn’t occurred since 1944.” 

     Junior Madalyn Rhoades says, “It’s called a blue moon because of how rare it is, some people believe it has supernatural abilities.”  This is disproved by many scientists who say “many wolves and other animals like to howl at the full moon for unknown reasons but the moon should not have anything to do with it.” It is shown to affect the tides however, making them larger and more aggressive because of the gravitational pull in the moon.

          In 2020 we will also have two supermoons. This means the moon was full when its orbit was closest to the earth. This results in a bigger and somewhat brighter full moon. While this is not as rare it is still uncommon says Leigh High Valley news. Dougherty states  “They call it the Harvest moon because it arrives around sunset and since this allows a bit of extra light, it was used by farmers harvesting crops.”

     The moon after the harvest moon should be called a hunter moon meaning for hunters to prepare for the winter. This is now replaced by the blue moon. Dougherty adds “They call it the Harvest moon because it arrives around sunset and since this allows a bit of extra light, it was used by farmers harvesting crops.”

     Along with the double full moon, October has more space activity. On Oct. 2, you could see a fiery red shape close to the moon. This was Mars. It is not the first time mars was visible but it is the closest Mars has ever been to the earth. This made it look the biggest and most red it ever has.