No doubt you have heard by now that this week, on 31 January 2018, our moon is being a bit extravagant. She will be a ‘blue moon’, meaning the second full moon in one calendar month. (She was earlier full on 2 January 2018.) She will be a ‘super moon’, meaning that she is both full and at, roughly, her nearest to us in her elliptical orbit. And, for a rare trifecta, there will also be a total lunar eclipse. For those of us in New South Wales, Australia, this brief, rust-red part of the show takes place between midnight and 1am, as the date changes from 31 January to 1 February. All of this, and its surrounding online anticipation, has me thinking about the moon. And about stories of the moon, which I would like to share with you. These are not my stories, but two podcasts available online: the first with a science and history focus, and the second of pure whimsy. I sincerely recommend that you take the time to enjoy these stories, if you can. Let the moon, and her awesome gravity, pull at your imagination.
The first story, with its astronomical and historical focus, is the debut episode of Cosmic Vertigo, with Dr Amanda Bauer and Dr Alan Duffy. You’ll need 23 minutes, and it is available here.
The second is a reading of Italo Calvino’s ‘The Distance of the Moon’, produced and aired by Radiolab. For this you will need 40 minutes and it is here. Really, both of these are enchanting in their own way.
Enjoy the view, my fellow earth-based travelers!
— Angie
A. L. Kahler 