Howl In The New Year - With Star Gazer! Win A Free Beginner's Telescope December 30, 2009

Check Here at Jack Stargazer's For All The Info Horkheimer: STAR GAZER Episode # 09-51 / 1672nd Show To Be Aired : Monday 12/21/2009 through Sunday 12/27/2009

"Howl In The Blue Full Moon This New Year's Eve!
And You May Win A Telescope!"
Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Approximately every 19 years there is a full Moon on New Year's Eve. And since the last one occurred on December 31st 1990 it means that next week's full Moon will also occur on December 31st and I'd like you to celebrate it in a very special way because there will not be another full Moon on New Year's Eve until 2028.

Now twice a month our Earth, Moon and Sun line up in a row. When the Moon is between our Earth and the Sun we can't see the Moon at all because its sunlit side is facing away from us and we say the Moon is new. And about two weeks later the Moon will have moved to the other side of our Earth and we then see the side of the Moon that is fully lit up and we call this the full Moon. Now on average the full Moon occurs every 29 1/2days which means that usually there is only one full Moon per month. But about every two and a half years we can have a month with two full Moons, one at the very beginning of the month and one at the very end. Folklore calls this second full Moon a 'blue' Moon although it has nothing to do with the Moon's color. So since we had a full Moon on December 2nd we're also going to have one December 31st which means that the full Moon this New Year's Eve will be a 'blue' full Moon. Let me show you.

O.K., we've got our skies set up for next Thursday night December 31st New Year's Eve, just after sunset facing east where you will see an exquisite 'blue', no color intended, full Moon rising. And if you remember all full Moons slowly climb the sky and reach their highest point at midnight, which of course this December 31st is when 2009 ends and 2010 begins, an event celebrated with great gusto all around the world. But this year you can do something very special when the Moon reaches its highest point at midnight which you won't be able to do again for 19 years. And that is something I did with a bunch of my neighbors in Miami 19 years ago in 1990.

You see I got all my neighbors together for a New Year's Eve 'howl in'. And from midnight until 12:30 we had a "full blue Moon howl-in-the-New-Year contest". Three judges picked the best and the winners received a brand new telescope. And I think it was the most fun New Year's Eve of my life. So 19 years later I'd like to do the same thing again only on a much bigger scale because I'd like all of you to be my "neighbors" and participate in the first international "Star Gazer, Ring-In-The-New-Year, Full Blue Moon Howl-in". All you have to do is organize a group of 12 people or more, have your own howling contest from midnight 'til whenever, pick your winners, perhaps award some prizes and then take a picture or video of your group and e-mail it along with your address to jackstargazer.com. In late January we'll select a dozen groups at random and each selected group will win a beginner's telescope. Go to jackstargazer.com for all the details, so get your group together and join the Star Gazer First International "Blue Full Moon-Howl-In-The-New-Year" celebration. Happy 2010! And keep looking up!

JH STAR GAZER HOME PAGE 12.22.09 Home of Jack Horkheimer's site. The first and only weekly TV series on naked eye astronomy. The best source for info on naked-eye stargazing.

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