Tonight's blue moon won't be seen again until 2015

The first blue moon in three years will appear in the night sky Friday, and the next blue moon won't be seen until 2015.

In Los Angeles, the full moon will begin to rise at 7:13 p.m.

A blue moon doesn't mean the moon will actually change color--it's the rare occurrence of two full moons occurring in the same calendar month.

PHOTOS: Rare blue moon appears Friday

The last time a blue moon happened was on New Year's Eve 2009. The next blue moon will occur on July 31, 2015, according to moongiant.com.

The phrase "blue moon" has been around for more than 400 years, wrote Philip Hiscock, a folklore expert at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, in an exhaustive piece on the origin of the phrase "blue moon" over the years.

But the current meaning was popularized only in the 1980s, he wrote in his piece for Sky & Telescope. Centuries ago, "blue moon" had more of a literary meaning of the absurd, "like saying the Moon is made of green cheese," he wrote.

Hiscock wrote that it was in 1988 when he first heard the term "blue moon" identified as the second full moon in a month, and was asked about it after "radio stations and newspapers everywhere carried an item on this bit of 'old folklore,' as they called it, drawing on an international wire story."

As it turns out, Hiscock concluded, the term was popularized by the radio program "Star Date," broadcast in January 1980. By 1985, the definition was enshrined in "The Kids' World Almanac of Records and Facts," and shortly after that was a question in Trivial Pursuit in 1986.

Transit of Venus: Readers share photos from rare event

Astronomy enthusiasts and those hoping to catch a glimpse of a rare astronomical show gathered around the world Tuesday to view the Transit of Venus. The planet won't pass between the Earth and sun again for 105 years, on Dec. 11, 2117.

The planet appeared as a pinprick at the edge of the sun at around 3:06 p.m. Sky gazers viewed the nearly seven-hour transit through solar glasses and telescopes or projected the image onto paper, the ground and sometimes themselves.

Those watching saw what has been seen only eight times since the invention of the telescope — a dark Venus, slithering across the surface of the sun. Astronomers were watching the celestial event from all corners of Earth.

PHOTOS: Venus transits across the sun

At Caltech, about 1,000 people were expected to watch the transit. About 3:10 p.m., three minutes after the start, the edge of Venus began to come into view — a tiny indentation in the sun's glow. In celebration, Caltech's pep band struck up a rousing rendition of John Philip Sousa's 1883 "Transit of Venus March," which marked the transit of 1882.

A short walk away, several hundred people, including dozens of children, lined up on the athletic field behind the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Orange T-shirt-wearing members of the Caltech Astronomy Outreach group, a graduate student organization, handed out protective glasses and manned seven telescopes.

"It's like watching grass grow," said 93-year-old Don Nicholson, describing Venus' incremental progression, most of which was visible locally before sunset. "But if you were told that grass only grows every 100 years, you'd probably want to watch it."

FULL COVERAGE: Transit of Venus

Times readers shared their photos and thoughts by tweeting @LANow with the hashtag #LAVenus and by uploading photos to our website. Keep reading to see reader photos and tweets.

Transit of Venus was a once-in-a-lifetime show for many

The Transit of Venus was a once-in-a-lifetime show for many who looked to the skies Tuesday.

"It's like watching grass grow," said 93-year-old Don Nicholson, describing Venus' 6-hour, 40-minute progression, most of which was visible locally before sunset. "But if you were told that grass only grows every 100 years, you'd probably want to watch it."

Nicholson has been coming to Mt. Wilson to view the sky since he was a child. His father, S.B. Nicholson, an astrophysicist working at the Mt. Wilson observatory, discovered four of Jupiter’s moons.

California and the U.S. Southwest was presented with spectacularly clear skies, offering the first chance to see Venus moving in front of the sun for the first time since 1882. The West Coast didn't see the last transit in 2004, which was timed before sunrise.

FULL COVERAGE: TRANSIT OF VENUS

The excitement over the transit -- which won't occur again for 105 years -- was not lost among those who watched the spectacle, from the young to the elderly. 

At the Leisure World retirement community in Seal Beach, Emily Hoshiko, 90, sat on her walker with a floral umbrella and with a dozen others quietly watched a projection screen showing a small black dot inching its way across a splash of light

“I think it’s amazing you can get a glimpse of something like this,” she said. “I’m not going to be here another 100 years.”

Crowds showed up at Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, where astronomers set up telescopes to see the magnified sun. Gushed Chris Spellman, 40, of Monrovia: "This is a once-in-a-lifetime event .... I'm pretty lucky to be alive right now."

At Mt. Wilson above the San Gabriel Valley, astronomers gathered beneath a blue sky with only occasional wisps of clouds breezing by to celebrate the historic transit. Anchoring their telescopes in the parking lot not far from the mountain communication and broadcast towers, visitors from Southern California and from around the country greeted the phenomena with a sense of wonder.
 
At 3:06 p.m., the edge of the sun began to be obscured by the planet. “I see it” and “I think I see it” were heard from observers peering through a large variety of telescopes, including one that is 15-feet long. Manufactured in 1868, it was set up horizontally with mirrors channeling the light onto a projection that drew a crowd of onlookers.
 
Its owner, John Briggs, past president of the Antique Telescope Society, drove from Eagle, Colo., to view the event. He brought about five telescopes with him and described the appeal of watching the transit.
 
“In the same way that a bird watcher might want to go to some effort to see a rare migration,” he said, “for someone interested in astronomy, the transit of Venus is a wonderful opportunity.”
 
Briggs was drawn to the event for its historical significance. “Astronomers of yesteryear put heroic effort to measuring this phenomena,” he said, referring to attempts to use the transit as a means to calculate the distance between the Earth and the sun. “We don’t need to go to those lengths today, but it is still humbling to see the phenomena now and think how hard people worked to view it.”
 
Once the planet was surrounded by the sun, descriptions ranged from a pea resting on a platter to the most accurate calculation of approximately one-tenth of 1% of the surface of the sun. But the diminished character of the event did nothing to diminish the crowd’s enthusiasm. Members from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and Orange County Astronomers chose Mt. Wilson, located a mile above the city, for its viewing potential.
 
Copernican scholar Owen Gingerich of Harvard University was among the viewers. Having witnessed the 2004 transit from Palermo, Italy, he had considered watching this event in Hawaii but decided upon Mt. Wilson. He was most interested in watching the Black Drop effect, in which Venus seems to elongate for a few minutes against the edge of the sun. It was this phenomenon that frustrated scientists in the 17th and 18th century attempting to determine the exact months when the transit began.

Venus transit: Last chance to see sun spectacle before sunset

 

The last chance in the continental United States to see the Transit of Venus was arriving, as the sun dipped closer to sunset on the West Coast. In Los Angeles, the show ends at sunset at 8:02 p.m. but continues for points west -- past Asia into most of Europe -- until 9:47 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

Sunset offers a dazzling chance for incredible views of the transit. It's the best time for photographers, who can capture the sun with views of people, trees, and mountains, offering a sense of scale that is more difficult to achieve when the sun is high in the sky.

California and the U.S. Southwest was presented with spectacularly clear skies, offering the first chance to see Venus moving in front of the sun for the first time since 1882. The West Coast didn't see the last transit in 2004, which was timed before sunrise.

FULL COVERAGE: TRANSIT OF VENUS

The excitement over the transit -- which won't occur again for 105 years -- was not lost among those who watched the spectacle, from the young to the elderly. 

At the Leisure World retirement community in Seal Beach, Emily Hoshiko, 90, sat on her walker with a floral umbrella and with a dozen others quietly watched a projection screen showing a small black dot inching its way across a splash of light

“I think it’s amazing you can get a glimpse of something like this,” she said. “I’m not going to be here another 100 years.”

At Leisure World, a final chance to see Transit of Venus

A group of about a dozen senior citizens took over the corner of a parking lot at Leisure World in Seal Beach on Tuesday afternoon to catch their first glimpse of Venus making its way across the sun.

Some peeked into telescopes and others quietly watched a projection screen with an image of a small black dot inching its way across a splash of light.

Michael Beckage, an engineer who mentors the astronomy devotees of Leisure World, set up the telescopes (much fancier than what the men and woman have at home) and told the observers what they were seeing.

FULL COVERAGE: TRANSIT OF VENUS

“There are a lot of geeks in the world who dig stuff like this,” said Beckage.

Emily Hoshiko, 90, sat on her walker with a floral umbrella unfurled, blocking the sun as she watched the screen.

“I think it’s amazing you can get a glimpse of something like this,” she said. “I’m not going to be here another 100 years.”

Just moments after 3 p.m., they spotted the speck of Venus as it crept over the sun, which is actually white. As Beckage pointed out Venus, some quipped that they thought it might have been a piece of debris in their eye.

Venus transit dazzles viewers around the world

Scientists and amateur astronomers alike celebrated the arrival of the Transit of Venus on Tuesday, peering up to the skies to watch a dark black dot slide over the surface of the sun.

Those taking part were seeing what has only been seen eight times since the invention of the telescope -- the image of Venus, a slithering period, blocking just a smidgen of the light from our solar system's star. Astronomers were watching the celestial event from all corners of Earth -- from California to Hawaii to Australia to India.

At Griffith Observatory, crowds of onlookers peered through telescopes to catch one of the rarest of planetary alignments, which won't be seen again until 2117.

FULL COVERAGE: TRANSIT OF VENUS

"To hear it and see it are two different experiences... It's that little dot you won't ever see in our lifetimes again," said Lee Flicker, 56, of Hancock Park.

Lenore Perry, 42, of Santa Monica, was less enthralled with the sight of a dot on the sun. "It doesn't look overwhelmingly wild. But when you think about what it is, it's rare and extraordinary."

One of the best parts of Transit of Venus was coming up at 6:27 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, when the planet was set to be at the midpoint of the sun. The show will continue until sunset in the continental U.S., but will go on in Asia, western Africa and most of Europe until about 9:47 p.m. PDT.

 At Mt. Wilson above the San Gabriel Valley, astronomers gathered beneath a blue sky with only occasional wisps of clouds breezing by to celebrate the historic transit.

Venus transit draws crowds at Griffith Observatory

Crowds of people gathered Tuesday afternoon at Griffith Observatory to view the rare Transit of Venus.

Among them were were Simi Valley resident Tom Baker, 54, and his son, Thomas Baker, 7. They had been there since 10 a.m.

Baker said that he took his son out of school because of what he viewed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"It's a perfect day," he said.

Viewers across the world took part in the  nearly 400-year-old astronomical obsession — tracking a familiar neighbor, Venus, as its orbit carries it directly between Earth and the sun.

This rare event takes place only once every century or so, usually in pairs spaced eight years apart. The next one won't happen until Dec. 11, 2117.

Keep reading to see reader photos and Tweets. Able to photograph the transit? Tweet it to us at @LANow and tag it with #LAVenus. You can upload photos to our website.

Venus transit 2012 begins as the world looks to the sky

The Transit of Venus of 2012 has begun, and people across the world have begun seeing a black dot of Venus coast across the sun's disc.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event because it won't happen again for another 105 years or so.... I'm pretty lucky to be alive right now," said Chris Spellman, 40, of Monrovia, who was setting up his telescope at the Griffith Observatory.

At Caltech in Pasadena, a pep band was preparing to play Sousa's "Transit of Venus March." Astronomers from Mount Wilson in Southern California to Mauna Kea in Hawaii were eagerly greeting the extremely rare planetary alignment with high-powered telescopes equipped with protective solar filters. The next Transit of Venus won't happen for 105 years. The view ends at sunset in the United States, and continues in points west -- Hawaii, Asia, eastern Africa, and Europe -- until just before 10 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

TRANSIT OF VENUS: FULL COVERAGE

"Woohoo!" exclaimed an astrophysicist watching Venus cross the sun in Hawaii over a live NASA feed online. "Ohh, it's amazing!" said another.

The Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles was expecting thousands of people to show up on its lawn to view the cosmic show, and experienced astronomers united with amateurs to watch something that has not been viewable in California since 1882.

Venus Transit begins at 3:06 p.m. PDT -- how to view it

The long-awaited Transit of Venus begins just after 3 p.m. PDT and you don’t have special solar glasses to view the rare planetary alignment. What are you to do?

Can I put 10 pairs of sunglasses together to view the sun?

No. You’re risking temporary or permanent damage to your eye. Only two kinds of commercially available vision filters are safe – solar filters sold at science museums and planetariums or a No. 14 welder’s glass. These filters block all but 0.003% of visible light, and also protect your eyes from harmful invisible infrared light.

So if I don’t have solar glasses, what can I do?

If you have a pair of binoculars, try focusing the light from the sun onto a sidewalk, and see if you can see a little dot on the sun after 3 p.m.  through sunset. The planet will hit the center of its journey around 6:27 p.m. PDT.  (The transit continues westward beyond the continental United States in Hawaii, and Australia, Asia and Europe, and ends just before 10 p.m. PDT.)

TRANSIT OF VENUS: FULL COVERAGE

Some experts also suggest making a homemade pinhole projector. But others warn that while they may work during solar eclipses, it may be difficult to see the tiny dot of Venus using this method.  Pinhole projection images are dim and small, according to the Exploratorium.

The best way, at this point, is to head to a Transit of Venus viewing party, because looking at the sight magnified through a safely-filtered telescope is the best option. You can find one at this NASA interactive map. For instance, Griffith Observatory and Columbia Memorial Space Center are hosting viewing parties with free access to telescopes equipped with special solar filters.

Or watch the event live online. NASA will anchor live Web coverage of the Transit of Venus from Hawaii.  More webcasts of the transit are also broadcasting around the world, including one from Southern California's Mount Wilson.

Venus Transit 2012: Live chat on how to observe the transit

The Transit of Venus is coming after 3 p.m. PDT, and The Times will be holding a live chat on a sight that won't be seen again for 105 years.

The chat is scheduled for 4 p.m. with Times reporter Ron Lin, who will be fielding your questions about the astronomical event.

Tuesday, viewers across the world take part in a nearly 400-year-old astronomical obsession — tracking a familiar neighbor, Venus, as its orbit carries it directly between Earth and the sun.

Venus Transit begins at 3:06 p.m. PDT -- how to view it

This rare event, known as a transit of Venus, takes place only once every century or so, usually in pairs spaced eight years apart. The next one won't happen until Dec. 11, 2117.

So this celestial affair has sky watchers abuzz, charged with a do-or-die feeling that this is something they absolutely need to see and study.

Venues around the world will provide viewing opportunities for the public. Viewing parties offering access to outfitted telescopes are being held through the evening at the Griffith Observatory, Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey and UCLA Planetarium, and east of the Seeley G. Mudd Building at USC. Members of the Antique Telescope Society have already set up their centuries-old viewing devices in a parking lot atop Mt. Wilson above the San Gabriel Valley, where Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding.

Transit of Venus 2012: Where's the best place to view the transit?

Able to photograph the transit? Tweet it to us at @LANow and tag it with #LAVenus. You can also upload photos to our website.

Full coverage of the Transit of Venus 2012