Seriously?

I’m used to every unusual astronomical phenomenon sparking a wave of “news” articles about its history, etymology, and economic impact. Not to mention the obligatory “How to watch…” pieces.

But, really, we’ve hit the absolute bottom of the barrel.

See, the moon is full.

You don’t get it? Neither did I. Doesn’t that happen every month, sometimes more than once a month?

Well, yes. But it turns out that once every three years or so, the full moon in September is not called the “Harvest Moon”.

Remember, this is just a naming convention. It has absolutely nothing to do with the moon’s appearance.

The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox. Two years out of three, that’s the full moon in September. The third year–including this year–it’s the October full moon.

And yet, presumably because we’re all so bored out of our skulls staying at home all the time, there’s a spate of articles urging us not to miss this “rare” phenomenon.

I haven’t gone searching, but I’d be willing to bet there’s at least one news story from a conservative website blaming the Democrats for moving the Harvest Moon from it’s “traditional” spot in September.

But that’s okay. There’s probably also a liberal site somewhere blaming the president for separating the Harvest Moon from the Corn Moon.

It’s not just Internet click bait, either. Well, it is, but it’s not just the usual sources of click bait.

Would you believe CNN has a “How to view…” page up?

Solemn truth.

It’s the flipping moon, people! Go outside after dark and look up! You can’t miss it!

*sigh* One more thing to blame on 2020.

Oh, well. At least there don’t seem to be any articles claiming that the moon is about to smash into the Earth and destroy civilization.