Astronomy

12 ASTRONOMY • JULY 2018

T

his past January,

several radio sta-

tions asked me to

talk about the “Blue

Super Blood Moon”

— winter’s biggest astronomical

event, judging by media inter-

est. But in the January issue

of this magazine, there was

not one specific mention of a

Blue Super Blood Moon, other

than noting January 31 would

bring a lunar eclipse in the

inconvenient pre-dawn hours.

Obviously, the event’s high pub-

lic interest was out of sync with

the low importance it received

from astronomy enthusiasts

and professionals.

Maybe we should look at this

phenomenon. After all, astron-

omers would love to see a wider

interest in the night sky. But the

dichotomy between “us” and

“them” can’t be ignored. It

shows itself on public viewing

nights when half the visitors

ask, “What power is your tele-

scope?” and we wearily explain

that the power changes when-

ever we switch eyepieces — and

that low power often gives a

better view than high. They’re

then baffled that we never point

telescopes at the Full Moon.

Thirty years ago, when I

took over as astronomy editor

of the Old Farmer’s Almanac,

the first thing I did was discon-

tinue all mention of penumbral

eclipses, minor meteor showers,

and all such non-events that

were likely to disappoint the

public. The recent Super Moon

craze falls firmly in that cat-

egory. The label suggests an

amazing event, but it’s a visual

letdown. Astronomy doesn’t

need that.

STRANGEUNIVERSE

BY BOB BERMAN

The Honey Moon

experiment

So now rewind to January

when countless media sources

were urging people, “Go out

and look at the big Super

Moon!” Those who did were

disappointed because a peri-

gean Full Moon is never more

than 7 percent larger than the

average Full Moon, which isn’t

enough for the eye to detect.

Nothing was different.

What’s really going on,

I think, is that the public has

a long-standing, deep-rooted

Moon fascination. The public

also likes to name things,

which is ref lected in the

media’s quick embrace of

those newly coined Full Moon

labels. A Depression-era

magazine error created the

term Blue Moon as we use it

today, while Super Moon and

Blood Moon were coined only a

few years ago. Not any are used

by astronomers. Should we now

suddenly make them part of

our vocabulary?

I sure won’t. Blood Moon?

Well, a fully eclipsed Moon

looks coppery rather than red.

If your blood is penny-colored,

see a hematologist. But at least

Blood Moon correctly suggests

a ruddy appearance. Conversely,

Blue Moon (usually meaning

the second Full Moon in a cal-

endar month) does not mean

the Moon turns blue. And a

Super Moon (which occurs

during what astronomers call a

lunar perigee) similarly looks

like any other Full Moon. No

wonder it all creates confusion.

But when these labels came

together January 31, and the

media figured out that it’s been

152 years since the second

Full Moon in the same month

underwent a total eclipse while

it was also at perigee — wow, it

sure sounded like an amazing

rare event that shouldn’t be

missed. No one was in the

mood to say, “Bah, humbug.”

And thus few in the media

bothered mentioning that such

a low eclipse might easily be

hidden by hills or houses, or

that dawn would arrive before

totality for the Eastern U.S. and

Canada, so no “blood” would

even flow.

Thus, intense media atten-

tion surrounded a sky “event”

that most astronomers didn’t

even bother setting an alarm

for. When it was over, the gulf

between the public and those

who love astronomy remained

as wide as always. But I’ll bet

the high-up midnight lunar

totality on January 21, 2019,

visible throughout the U.S., will

get us all out, no questions

asked. And sure, let them call it

another Blood Moon. What’s

the harm?

In the meantime, let’s test

this idea that the public adores

new names for Full Moons.

Many get this magazine late

in the month, in time for the

June 28 Full Moon. This hap-

pens to be the lowest Full Moon

of the year, which somehow

does not have an official name.

So let’s give it one. What if we

now decide to call the Full

Moon closest to the summer

solstice the “Honey Moon”?

Since this lowest of all Full

Moons must shine through the

thicker air near the horizon,

plus the warm season’s atmo-

sphere typically contains more

moisture, it will likely look

more amber colored than most

Full Moons, making “Honey

Moon” a perfect label. Let’s

start using that term annually,

and you know what? I’ll bet

five years from now, “Honey

Moon” will be repeated by the

media as the official title of the

June Full Moon. If it works,

we’ll know that we were all in

on the experiment.

What’s in

a name?

BROWSE THE “STRANGE UNIVERSE” ARCHIVE AT http://www.Astronomy.com/Berman.

The June Full Moon often appears amber or honey colored, rising low in the sky

for those in the Northern Hemisphere. If we start calling it the “Honey Moon,” will

it catch on? KEVIN BURKETT

Let’s test this idea that the public adores

new names for Full Moons.

Join me and Pulse of the Planet’s

Jim Metzner in my new podcast,

Astounding Universe, at

http://astoundinguniverse.com.