Tide clock This is often complicated because the lead or lag varies during the course of the lunar month, as the lunar and solar tides fall into and out of synchronization. The lunar tide and solar tide are synchronized (ebb and flow at the same time) near the full moon and the new moon. The two tides are unsynchronized near the first and last quarter moon (or "half moon"). Also, in addition to the relative position of the moon and the elliptical pattern of the sun, the tide can be affected to some degree by wind and atmospheric pressure. All of these
Full moon is called a blue moon. The term "blue moon" used in this sense may date to as early as the 16th century, but it became well known in the United States due to the "Farmers' Almanac" (published since 1818). According to the "Farmers' Almanac", a "blue moon" is the third full moon in any period between either solstice and equinox, or between equinox and solstice, (calculated using the mean tropical year), which contains four full moons. These seasons are equal in length, unlike the astronomical ones, which vary in length depending on the Earth's speed in its elliptical orbit round