Also: https://pbase.com/britestar/image/171188980
While a blue moon seems rare, a full moon on Halloween across time zones is even more rare -- an event that hasn't occurred since 1944: 76 years ago & long before most of us were born. So this truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The above, rather strange image, is exactly as shot. My camera settings were off for this first shot of the moon. In this image, I over exposed the moon. However, when I later went to delete this overexposed photo, I discovered a second blue orb behind the moon. One might say that the second orb could be a “blue moon”. This was NOT Photoshop magic on Halloween. Frankly, I’m not at all sure why the photo came out like this, but IMO, it’s kind of eerie. The background was the ink black night sky without distractions. The blue orb behind the moon seems like a “blue moon” specter on Halloween.
The term “blue moon” normally has nothing to do with color, but instead refers to a second full moon within the same month. But tonight, I photographed what looks like an actual “blue moon” behind the normal full moon. I’m sure there is probably some logical explanation in science for what I photographed. But with it happening on Halloween could make one wonder a little about things in the upside down, unbelievable year of 2020. This blue moon (orb), however, does not show up in my other, properly exposed photos, of the Halloween full moon.
Origin of the term “Blue Moon” comes from an anti-clerical pamphlet (attacking the Roman clergy, and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in particular) by two converted Greenwich friars, William Roy and Jerome Barlow, published in 1528 under the title “Rede me and be nott wrothe, for I say no thynge but trothe.” The relevant passage reads: “O churche men are wyly foxes [...] Yf they say the mone is blewe / We must beleve that it is true”.
And here’s some information from “Sky and Telescope”:
“There are also historical examples of the Moon actually turning blue. That's the third meaning — the Moon appearing blue in the sky. When the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa exploded in 1883, its dust turned sunsets green and the Moon blue all around the world for the best part of two years. In 1927, the Indian monsoons were late arriving and the extra-long dry season blew up enough dust for a blue Moon. And Moons in northeastern North America turned blue in 1951 when huge forest fires in western Canada threw smoke particles up into the sky. So, by the mid-19th century, it was clear that visibly blue Moons, though rare, did happen from time to time — whence the phrase "once in a blue Moon." It meant then exactly what it means today, a fairly infrequent event, not quite regular enough to pinpoint.”
Well whatever the reason, there may have been a true blue moon on Halloween of 2020. Or at least a specter-like orb (shadowing the moon) that resembled a blue moon… Although I've seen the moon itself sometimes take on a color tinge, I've never seen anything like this before.
To see a correctly exposed moon shot from tonight, go to this image: https://pbase.com/britestar/image/171188980 . Meanwhile, the above blue specter (as shot) demonstrates more of the "mood" of today.
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Saturday US COVID News
Far, far too much "bad" news
“With nearly 100,000 new cases, the U.S. breaks the daily record.” New York Times
“US coronavirus cases break global daily record, and experts warn it will only get worse.” CNN
“Hospitalizations and deaths are also trending upward. Across the nation, more than 46,600 people were hospitalized with the virus on today, an increase of about 25 percent over the past two weeks, according to The Covid Tracking Project. The country has averaged just over 800 deaths a day over the past week”. NY Times
“’We’re in for a whole lot of hurt. It’s not a good situation,’ Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious-disease expert, said in a wide-ranging interview late Friday. ‘All the stars are aligned in the wrong place as you go into the fall and winter season, with people congregating at home indoors. You could not possibly be positioned more poorly.’
Fauci’s blunt warnings come as Trump has rallied in states and cities experiencing record surges in infections and hospitalizations in a last-ditch effort to convince voters he has successfully managed the pandemic. He has held maskless rallies with thousands of supporters, often in violation of local health mandates.” Washington Post
“Hospitalizations for COVID-19 are all-time highs in the Kansas City area, and local hospital leaders say admissions are being pushed over the top by patients coming from rural areas. Doctors and nurses say their facilities have been reaching capacity, forcing hospitals to turn patients away in some cases. Health officials say the availability of health care for people in the Kansas City area is now being threatened by this influx of patient from communities that lack mask mandates.” KCUR News
FYI, “personal freedom” in those “rural areas” are why the Missouri state governor absolutely refuses to put in a state mask mandate or to implement another “lock down”in the state; no matter how things get going forward… The current governor still insists COVID is only a big city problem & others should be allowed to live their lives as if COVID doesn’t exist. So people outside the big cities in Missouri have behaved as if COVID doesn’t exist.. How ironic that those “others” are now taking away hospital space from people who are local to the big cities & who need critical care for things (like accidents, heart attacks, and strokes). The effects of COVID disregard goes far beyond these cases of coronavirus that are now coming from outside the area: cases that possibly could have been prevented.
“We’ve had this huge swing that’s occurred because they’re not wearing masks, and yes, that’s putting pressure on our hospitals, which is unfair to our residents — to our residents that might be denied an ICU bed,” says Dr. Rex Archer, the head of the Kansas City Health Department.
"Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has dismissed requests from health care providers to implement a statewide mask mandate. At his last COVID-19 briefing, when the state health department reported a record high of people hospitalized, Parson insisted that hospitals could manage the surge.” KCUR News
“KC area, KS, MO, US set single-week record for new COVID-19 cases
KC, MO also report record number of deaths.” KSHB News
“KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Local health professionals are bracing for a potential uptick in COVID-19 patients following Halloween weekend. Indoor and unmasked get-togethers are expected to add to the caseload, which has been steadily growing in size at Kansas City metro hospitals throughout October.” FOX News
I will continue the US COVID news updates at least until the National US election next week. After that, I’m not sure if I will be able to continue…
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Tonight is our 8th Full Moon in “Stay at Home” Social Isolation.
I can hardly believe it’s been this long. These past months have been almost unimaginable. It’s now becoming increasingly difficult to remain optimistic. The light at the end of this dark tunnel seems to be moving farther and farther away. The USA has no control over the pandemic, and the current political administration has absolutely no plan to try to control COVID-19. The White House plan seems to let the virus run through the population (taking millions of vulnerable lives) until this disease someday "might" burn itself out years from now. Or not...
