Let's take this as a celestial sign of a better decade to come, shall we? This New Year's Eve, there will be a blue moon in the sky. No, not literally blue; the term "blue moon" actually refers to when there are two full moons in a given calendar month, an astronomical rarity that occurs just seven times every 19 years, hence the famous phrase "once in a blue moon."
What's more, this New Year's Eve, people living in the Far East will see a lunar eclipse, making this an even rarer...er rarity. A blue-moon eclipse only happens once roughly every 15 to 20 years.
Though we prefer to view this as a portent of good things to come (they can't get any worse, can they?), some believe that a full moon -- not to mention a blue one -- can cause strong emotions to flare. Some evidence shows that arrests for petty crime and public drunkenness increase 5% during a full moon, and police expect extra aggressiveness and antisocial behavior from revelers whenever a full moon occurs during a holiday.
-- Richard Metzger
Photo: December's first full moon, as seen from Phoenix. Credit: Rob Schumacher / Associated Press
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UPDATE: There seems to be some disagreements as to exactly what a "blue moon" is. Click here to read some other opinions.
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