Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Impending Blue Moon


The difference between the solar year and the lunar year is about 11 days. The sun rises 365 times in a solar year, and the full moon rises 12 times (plus about 11 days) per the earth's rotation around the sun. The accumulation of these days over the course of a few solar years results in an extra full moon thrown into the year. This is what's known as the "blue moon," and we're getting one on New Year's Eve this year. The last time a blue moon came around I was in Minneapolis and walked home in flip-flops from the middle of downtown while my friends stood around trying to get a cab. I'm pretty sure I kept walking farther away from people hoping to get a jump on an available cab, and then I must have just decided to walk the rest of the way home since I was already several blocks from downtown. I woke up the next morning to a voicemail inbox crammed with questions of my whereabouts and personal safety decision making skills. If there's ever a night where this kind of behavior is acceptable, it's a New Year's Eve Blue Moon. Plan accordingly.

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