Blue Moon

August ends with a Blue Moon - the second full moon of the month.

Most years have 12 full moons that occur approximately once a month. In addition to these 12 full lunar cycles, each year contains about 11 extra days. The accumulation of these extra days means that an extra full moon is generated every two to three years.

The month begins with a full moon on 1 August and ends with the Blue Moon on 31 August.

Crop circles

This crop circle at Windmill Hill, not far from the ancient stone circle at Avebury, Wiltshire,  was first reported on 25 July. The lay-down was still fresh and the weather fine during the "field trip"  organised in conjunction with the Glastonbury Symposium. The formation, which has been variously described as resembling a sword, spear, wand or trident, displays the typical swirled pattern in a wheat crop, with a pathway of overlaid circles (see picture one) leading to a line of circles of decreasing size. Aerial views and further information can be found on the Crop Circle Connector website.

Day Out of Time

For followers of the 13 Moon calendar, 25 July is termed a "Day Out of Time".

The calendar breaks the 365-day annual cycle of the earth's orbit around the sun into 13 months of 28 days. This totals 364,  leaving one day spare, belonging to no week or month, between the end of one year and the beginning of the next. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/shortcuts/2012/jul/24/its-day-out-of-time?CMP=twt_gu

Third Friday 13th of 2012

If it seems like Friday 13^th is coming round more often than usual, that’s because 2012 has three of them altogether – and these three days are 13 weeks apart.

When a leap year starts with a Sunday, that year will have a combination of three Friday 13ths, spaced exactly 13 weeks apart, in January, April and July.

This happens three or four times a century, following a 28 year cycle. The last such year was 1984 and the next one will be 2040.

Fire Garden at Stonehenge

Cascades of candles, balls of fire and glowing coals crackled into life at the Stonehenge Fire garden, created by French outdoor alchemists Compagnie Carabosse. Visitors who made the 20 minute trek across muddy fields to the site were rewarded with the rare opportunity to wander among the stones, which are usually cordoned off from the public during opening hours. (Although private visits may be arranged.) The event was organised by Salisbury International Arts Festival as part of the London 2012 programme of nationwide arts events centred around the Olympic games. This vibrant nocturnal spectacle was a fitting way to celebrate this World Heritage site, not as an archaic monument, but as a living temple to Nature and an enduring example of outstanding architecture. Built as a place of worship to honour the sun and celebrate the summer solstice, this stone circle is still standing tall, as impressive as ever, within a beautiful natural setting.

Higgs Boson breakthrough

Scientists believe they have isolated the so-called “God Particle” in their search to discover what holds the physical fabric of the universe together. The announcement came in a progress report from the Large Hadron Collider, the £2.6 billion particle accelerator, which subjects atomic particles to high levels of energy. Scientists announced they had found new evidence of the elusive Higgs boson, which they regard as an essential connection between the mathematical theory of the universe and the everyday world.