Quadrantids (or Bootids) Meteor Shower Jan 3-4

Ok so the moon is still very full, this will increase the background light & make it difficult to pick up some of the shooting stars but last year was a very good show, with a sharp peak so it may still be worth braving the cold.

The radiant of this shower is the bootes constellation, between draco, the big dipper & corona borealis. Some of the stars that make up Bootes used to be part of an old constellation Quadrans muralis - which is why the shower is called Quadrantids rather than the Bootids.

Bootes rises in the North East after 11pm, probably best viewing around 2.30 ish. But you could get up early and watch it around 5ish. Watch out for Saturn in Virgo & Mars next to the moon near Leo / Cancer.

Keep warm & Keep looking up!

Blue Moon by Frank & Ella

Blue moon, you saw me standin' alone
Without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me sayin' a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper "please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper "please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

Just once in a very blue moon.... chords & lyrics

ONCE IN A VERY BLUE MOON

Capo 5
C G F
I found your letter in my mailbox today
C G F
You were just checkin' if I was okay
C G F
And if I miss you, well, you know what they say ...

F G C C/B Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
just once in a very blue moon
F G Em Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
and I feel one comin' on soon

C G F
No need to tell me, you'd like to be friends
C G F
and help me get back on my feet again
C G F
If I miss you at all ... it's just now and then

F G C C/B Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
just once in a very blue moon
F G Em Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
and I feel one comin' on soon

F Em
There's a blue moon shinin'
C F G F C
when I am reminded of all we've been through
F Em C
Such a blue moon ... shinin'
F G
Does it ever shine down on you?

C G F
You act as if it never hurt you at all
C G F
Like I'm the only one who's gettin' up from a fall
C G F
Don't you remember? Can't you recall?

F G C C/B Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
just once in a very blue moon
F G Em Am
just once ... in a very blue moon
F G C
and I feel one comin' on soon
F G C
just once in a very blue moon

Nanci Griffith

An Eclipsed Blue Moon on New Year's Eve

So much mythology, superstitions & songs....

Once upon a time, in a land not far away, but long ago, before electric light & batteries the light of the full moon was valued in a way that its hard to appreciate now. We did not have to travel far from the urban centres to find dark skies & our land did not appear like circuit boards from above. We were much more aware of the seasons & cycles, in many ways our work and activity was intensely restricted by them, natural deadlines. The full moon nearest to the Autumn Equinox is known as the Harvest moon as this natural ambient light allowed for extra time in gathering & working the land, which made a difference in laying in the stores for the winter, traditionally gathered in before halloween. Tracking the path of the sun & the moon in order to be able to predict natural patterns. Which is why there are so many superstitions, old wives tales & songs relate to this.

Observing the moon's shape, noticing when it rises & sets in relation to the sun will show specifically what phase its in. This would have been as natural to country living folk in the past as knowing what day it is & how to read a clock is now.

In traditional terms a blue moon is a 4th full moon in a season. If there were 3 full moons in each of the 4 seasons, this would account for 12 moons, but there is a little bit of time left over which occasionally means we have an "extra" moon in the season - the blue moon. This explanation is determined by the seasons & therefore the extra blue moon occurs just before the turn of the season - November, February, May or August.

We no longer have the same attachment to the seasons & natural cycles as we once had. Our very survival doesn't depend on us getting the crop in, gathered and stored before certain seasonal changes as we can get exotic fruits & out of season veg at almost any time. We are now much more aware of which calendar month it is rather than which moon phase in relation to the season. There is a second explanation for the blue moon - which yields slighty different dates. This new interpretation is that a blue moon is a second full moon in the month. There are traditional names for each months moon & if there is a second one it is a blue moon.

The 2009 New Year's Eve full moon was the second in the month, a blue moon by the recent interpretation rather than the traditional description. Made extra special by the eclipse, the time off & the celebration of the New Year.

It was a lovely clear crispy night, great conditions for skywatching. I hope you were influenced by all the mythology, superstitions & songs and that you cultured the spirit of romance & opportunity..... For those who like to read signs, the mythos of the blue moon, really is that anything can happen, open yourself to the opportunity...

There is of course cases when the moon has seemed to become blue - this was usualy die to particles in the atmosphere, for example after Krakatoa erupted the moon appeared blue for 2 years, a different sign entirely eh?

I love to believe that every 3 years or so, there is a full moon, which makes us believe that anything is possible!