'Blue moon' on same day as Neil Armstrong service
WASHINGTON (AP) - There's a rare 'blue moon' on Friday, a fitting wink to Neil Armstrong by the cosmic calendar.
That's the day of a private service for Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who died last Saturday in Ohio at age 82.
A blue moon occurs when there's a second full moon in one calendar month. It won't happen again until July 2015. The full moon cycle is 29.5 days so a blue moon is uncommon and has come to mean something rare. The moon actually won't be colored blue.
Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb said the moon is far more important to lovers, literature and folklore than to science.
Armstrong's family has suggested paying tribute to him by looking at the moon and giving the astronaut a wink.
I gave the moon a wink in honor of my childhood (and still!) hero. Thank you for the small step Neil. Someday we will have the courage to take another step - at least we can hope.
A Blue Moon is the 3rd of 4 moons in a season. This is not a Blue Moon. Our next Blue Moon is August 21, 2013.
 @Thomas Gill Um.....no.
Pretty cool, RIP Mr. Armstrong.
Pretty cool coincidence, really.Â
 @Sovereign Hardly a coincidence. They know when blue moons will occur. They knew it was going to happen Friday so planning his memorial on the same day is far from coincidental.
 @Barlion Did they plan his death so that they'd have the opportunity to plan his memorial the same day as a blue moon, too?