Conversations in Science went Loony over all things Lunar

Looney about Lunar happenings
(First aired on KLRNRadio, Monday, January 8, 2018)

Jessie and I really did go a little loony about all things lunar. Not only was it fun to head back into my scientific roots (I do have a PhD in Astronomy after all), but let's face it... So many things lunar are all jam-packed into January 2018.

It starts with the supermoon that has just passed on January 2, 2018. This is where the full moon coincides with the moon being at its perigee (i.e., closest distance to the earth).

On January 31, 2018, we have our second full moon of the year, the second full moon in the month. And it just so happens that it will also be a total lunar eclipse. So, because it's the second full moon in the month, it's called a Blue moon. And because the next full moon will also be a total lunar eclipse, the moon will turn the color of red. So we get a Red Blue moon.  (Does anyone else smell the crazies coming out?)

Here is just some of the things that we spoke about on the show.

• Perigee and apogee, and how these relate to supermoons and minimoons.
• What a blue moon really is.
• Why we get solar and lunar eclipses, and why we don't get them every month.
• Why we can watch a lunar eclipse and not a solar eclipse with our naked eyes.
• The phases of the moon and some of the fancy terms that people have for them.
• Where the light from the moon really comes from. (Spoiler alert: the light of the moon is really light from the sun.)
• And we talked about lunar calendars verses the modern calendar, and some of the ancient names for the different full moons.

And I remember a wolf howling at the moon a few times. I fairly certain that I didn't imagine that.

Check it out, guys. It's not often that both Jessie and I get a little loony.