Blue moon to rise above New Year’s Eve

For the first time in over a decade, New Year’s Eve revelry, from early- evening snowshoe hikes to midnight fireworks, will take place by the light of a blue moon.

Savor the moment, astronomers say, because the phenomenon in which two full moons occur in the same month won’t happen again in December until 2028.

“I encourage people to look up, enjoy the sight and think about all the interesting things that have happened” over the past decade, said Robert Stencel, professor of astronomy at the University of Denver, where public astronomy events are often held at the Chamberlin Observatory. “And be happy that we’re still here to observe it.”

Thursday night’s blue moon also coincides with a lunar eclipse – although it won’t be visible in the United States – that astrologers say carries powerful meaning.

“Full moons, and especially eclipses, call us to release what is no longer serving our growth,” said Cynthia Zehn, a Western Slope astrologer, in her weekly blog.

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Scientists, however, don’t see these conjunctions as particularly momentous.

“But it’s kind of nice that it shows up at the end of the week at the end of the month at the end of the year of the decade,” Stencel said.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14090783#ixzz0bD4f3C7p