Wire report
Starwatch: this week’s rare blue moon highlights the strange way we mark our calendar
Because we define dates based on the stars, the full moon on 31 May will be the second one of the calendar month This week’s full moon is a blue moon. The term does not describe the colour of the moon, but instead arises from the way we define our calendar in reference to the stars rather than the moon. The moon takes almost a month to circle our planet. The exact time is 29.5 days but if we were to define our calendar as 12 lunar months, the year would fall short by around 11 days. Thus, the calendar would fall out of step with the seasons. Continue reading...
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Because we define dates based on the stars, the full moon on 31 May will be the second one of the calendar month This week’s full moon is a blue moon. The term does not describe the colour of the moon, but instead arises from the way we define our calendar in reference to the stars rather than the moon. The moon takes almost a month to circle our planet. The exact time is 29.5 days but if we were to define our calendar as 12 lunar months, the year would fall short by around 11 days. Thus, the calendar would fall out of step with the seasons. Continue reading...
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s linked item, Starwatch: this week’s rare blue moon highlights the strange way we mark our calendar, Because we define dates based on the stars, the full moon on 31 May will be the second one of the calendar month This week’s full moon is a blue moon. The term does not describe the colour of the moon, but instead arises from the way we define our calendar in reference to the stars rather than the moon. The moon takes almost a month to circle our planet. The exact time is 29.5 days but if we were to define our calendar as 12 lunar months, the year would fall short by around 11 days. Thus, the calendar would fall out of step with the seasons. Continue reading…
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Science coverage for readers following research, health, climate, space, medicine, and scientific institutions. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-05-25T05:00:16+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: Starwatch: this week’s rare blue moon highlights the strange way we mark our calendar via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- Starwatch: this week’s rare blue moon highlights the strange way we mark our calendarThe Guardian - 2026-05-25T05:00:16+00:00
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