Attend Full Moon Picnic Sun Sept 7 at 8 PM on Pont des Arts

Ahoy there,
The next Full Moon Picnic will be Sunday, September 7 from 8 to 10 PM. Moonrise will be around 8:35 PM. We’ll meet at the 2nd bench from the Louvre side of the bridge. If we’re lucky we’ll get a spectacular view of the moonrise through the cupola on the roof of Theatre du Chatelet.

In American Indian lore this is the Full Corn Moon, marking the time for harvesting the corn.

WHAT: Everyone brings food and drink to share.

WHERE: Pont des Arts. We'll gather around the 2nd bench from the Louvre end of the bridge. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.

WHEN: Sunday 7 Sept 8-10 PM

WHY: Share one of the most memorable sights in Paris with some of the nicest people around.

WHO: You and your friends.

HOW to find us: Keep your eyes out for a small telescope on tripod if the sky is clear. Look for a bunch of friendly people speaking English, French or gibberish, drinking and munching around a between the 2nd and 3rd bench from the Louvre end of the bridge.

THEME: Corn. Popcorn. Corny things of all kinds, including jokes, t-shirts, hats, etc.

BIRTHDAYS: Are you a Virgo? If so, bring a little cake so we can celebrate your birthday this month, light sparklers and and blow out the world’s largest birthday candle.

PUZZLER I: What is a “black moon” and why does it only occur once in a blue moon?

PUZZLER ANSWER I: It turned out there was a so-called “black moon” last weekend which was the first time I’d ever heard the term. Two non-astronomer journalists with too much time on their hands in 2016 came up with “black moon” to refer to a "new moon” that's more or less the opposite of a “blue moon.” A quick refresher: What is a blue moon? There are several definitions. It’s either the 3rd of 4 full moons in a season, OR more popular use, the 2nd full moon in the same month OR colloquially “something that happens very infrequently. And what is a new moon? It’s when the moon isn't visible for an entire night - not because of clouds but because it’s the one night in the lunar cycle when sunlight does reach the side facing Earth and the moon remains totally dark.

OK you’re ready. A “black moon” is a special version of a new moon. A “black moon” is either the 3rd new moon in a season OR when there are two new moons within the same month. This happens only every couple of years. Wait there’s more...obscurity. Apparently once every 19 years there can be a whole month without a single new moon at all which is also called a black moon month. Of course this can only happen during the month of February, which is shorter than the lunar month of 29.5 days. Interestingly when there’s no new moon in February, there will be two new moons January and again in March. (That's called a “double black moon” although it should be called a "triple black moon” by my count, but who’s counting? Don’t ask.)

PUZZLER II: Why all this fuss about a “black moon?” After all it’s something you can’t even see because a "black moon" is by definition always invisible. Or is it?

PUZZLER II ANSWER:
Well, actually there are very rare special times when you CAN see the new moon. During a total solar eclipse, the new moon photobombs the sun by moving exactly right in front, blocking the spotlight. That’s when you can see the normally invisible new moon silhouetted against the glorious corona of the sun.
https://www.almanac.com/what-black-moon

ciao for niao,
Captain Bob