Yes, I know, the names of these moons are getting a little ridiculous. But this one’s for real. You won’t be able to see it, but rest assured it’s there.
It’ll look something like this:
A “black moon” is the second new moon of a month. This one is also a “super moon” because it’s at its closest point to the earth in its monthly orbit. For more, see the explanation here. Happy viewing!
Since you asked: Tonight’s full moon (and partial eclipse!) is known as the THUNDER MOON. We don’t know why.
It’s also known variously as the BUCK MOON, the RIPE CORN MOON, the HAY MOON, and the OLD MOON. We don’t know why these names, either.
More at this link.
We’re still getting rain from Hurricane Barry (now Tropical Storm Barry) here in New Orleans. But in following the storm, many of us relied on reports and analyses from the National Hurricane Center.
Alan Broussard, one of the main characters in my novel THE NIGHT OF THE COMET, was inspired in part by a guy I went to high school with. You probably had one in your school, too: a science nerd who knew everything about space and weather and clouds. The one at our school–let’s call him “Jack”–used to stand out in the parking lot in his black raincoat studying the sky, his weather radio pressed to his ear. He could predict the weather better than the TV weathermen could. He was teased mercilessly for this, of course. But to his credit, Jack stood his ground, he kept his eyes on the clouds . . .
And today, he’s a Senior Hurricane Specialist at the National Hurricane Center. I’ve seen his name on the reports about Hurricane Barry. His predictions are always right on the money.
Image from “Flowers of the Sky,” by Richard A. Proctor (1879). I’ll post more soon, but if you’re impatient you can see lots of wonderful images of comets here at Public Domain Review.
