As you are all aware, tonight's full moon is called a Blue Micromoon.
A Micromoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is farthest from Earth in its elliptical orbit around Earth.
A Supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the moon is closest to Earth.
The apparent diameter of a Supermoon is ~12% larger than that of a Micromoon.
A rare 2nd full moon in a month is known as a Blue Moon.
The orbital diagram below helps understand Supermoons and Micromoons.
@AkaSci βThe 2nd full moon in a month is known as a Blue Moon.β I just learned today that this is one of two definitions, and itβs a more recent one that came out of a mistake in a 1946 article in Sky and Telescope Magazine that became popularized and accepted! Sunshine Nate explains it here.
4,532 likes, 81 comments - sunshinenateastro on May 29, 2026: "What is a Blue Moon? Near Full Blue Moon through Telescope with Venus and Jupiter #bluemoon #history #science #astronomy #telescope".
I would go further and just call it wrong. Two full moons in a month isn't terribly uncommon, the opposite of the meaning of "blue moon" which is of a very rare occurrence.
The folk etymology has the "rareness" derive from the not-very-rare double full moons, which makes no sense. It's just wrong.
@ancientsounds @bluejay @AkaSci
Yeah, though for what it's worth I put the widespread dissemination of it at 1982, which from my experience is when the U.S. TV news channels started using it as filler in between more serious news stories.
AkaSci π°οΈ
Bluejay
John M. Gamble
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