TERMIUM Plus^®

Record 1,  Textual support,  English

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 DEF

The name given to the second full moon in a given month, which occurs about once every three years.  2, record 1, English, - blue%20moon

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 2 DEF

Phenomenon caused by the presence of large quantities of suspended particles in the atmosphere which selectively remove the longer lunar ... visible wavelengths more than the blue ... wavelengths.  4, record 1, English, - blue%20moon

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 OBS

... blue moon ... For half a century, it's been known as the second full moon in a month ... But that's wrong ... The magazine [Sky & Telescope] incorrectly defined the term 53 years ago. James Hugh Pruett wrote a 1946 piece for the magazine after apparently misinterpreting a complex 1937 article in the Maine Farmer's Almanac that essentially, but not clearly, said a blue moon occurs when a season has four full moons, rather than the usual three. Pruett mistakenly thought it meant having a second full moon within the same month. Pruett's mistake went unnoticed for decades. ... Although Sky & Telescope's editors think Pruett's mistake led to the popular modern mis-definition of "blue moon," it's unclear where the Maine Farmer's Almanac came up with the rule. The almanac is defunct. Pruett died in 1955. ... By either definition -- Pruett's or the almanac's -- blue moons occur about every two or three years ... Although purists may subscribe to the almanac's point of view, Sinnott thinks Pruett's error will prevail.  5, record 1, English, - blue%20moon

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 2 OBS

When a month has two full moons the second is known as a "blue" moon, though it only rarely has a blue tint that unusual atmospheric conditions can supply. Occasionally the moon takes on unusual colors, but most often it tends to be reddish, reports Guy Ottewell of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.  6, record 1, English, - blue%20moon

Record 1,  Textual support,  French

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 DEF

Phénomène dû à la présence d'une grande quantité de particules suspendues dans l'atmosphère qui éliminent sélectivement les longueurs d'onde relativement grandes de la lumière lunaire [...] visible plutôt que les longueurs d'onde plus courtes, correspondant au bleu [...]  2, record 1, French, - lune%20bleue

Record 1,  Textual support,  Spanish

Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 DEF

Fenómeno debido a la presencia en la atmósfera de una gran cantidad de partículas en superficie que atenúan selectivamente las longitudes de onda más largas de la radiación [...] lunar visible más que las longitudes de onda azules [...]  1, record 1, Spanish, - luna%20azul