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In the coming months, we will experience an astronomical phenomenon known as a “major lunar station” or “major lunar stop.” This occurs every 18.6 years, and the last time was in 2006. Write for media.
It will reach the extreme point of the horizon and the highest point in the sky.
The path of the moon’s movement in the sky is different from that of the sun and other celestial bodies. It has its own rising and setting points on the horizon, and they are constantly changing due to the movement of the earth and the moon.
As we remember from school, the planets of our solar system revolve around their parent star in the same plane – this plane is called the ecliptic. The Earth’s axis is tilted 23.4 degrees relative to the ecliptic, so our planet experiences seasons (winter and summer) and the range of the Sun’s rise and set is almost 47 degrees (23.4 + 23.4) throughout the year.
But the Moon’s orbit is also tilted to the plane of the ecliptic — the angle is 5.1 degrees. Because of this, our natural satellite can rise and fall within 57 degrees below the horizon during one month’s orbit around Earth. This is why the Moon can rise and set further north or south than the Sun.
However, there is such a thing as the precession of the lunar orbit. We will not explain to the reader what it is, we will just say that, because of this, every 18 years or so, the Moon reaches the extremes of the horizon and the highest point (as well as the lowest point) of the horizon in the sky. These extremes are called minor and major lunar stations (or standstills).
What does Stonehenge have to do with it?
Thus, a major lunar cycle occurs when the moon rises at the northeast or southeast pole and sets at the northwest or southwest pole. Furthermore, it rises as high as it can go.
This phenomenon affects how long the Moon stays in the night sky, making it visible longer and brighter than the opposite phase – the small lunar station.
It’s not surprising that for ancient people this astronomical phenomenon played an important role.
“Historic sites such as Stonehenge, Callanish and Newgrange appear to coincide with the moon’s rise and set during the lunar station, suggesting the importance of this celestial event in the past,” the article’s authors wrote in the journal Live Science.
There is even a hypothesis that particularly valuable areas of Stonehenge were used for burials during the rise of the moon.
Live Science notes that the main lunar cycle will peak during the autumnal equinox in September 2024 and the spring equinox in March 2025. But visibility depends on the phase of the moon, the observer’s location, and of course, the weather.
The best time to view the moon is when it rises and the sun sets.
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