During the lunar standstill moonrise and moonset are at their furthest apart
This weekend the rare event coincided with the rising of a Full Strawberry Moon
Stunning photos show the Full Strawberry Moon coinciding with a ‘major lunar standstill’ over the weekend.
Occurring just once every 18.6 years, ‘major lunar standstill’ is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along the horizon, as viewed from Earth.
Meanwhile, the Strawberry Moon is the name for the full moon when it appears in June – named by historic tribes after the season’s ripening fruit.
From Stonehenge to Paris, Athens and New York, incredible photos capture the stunning display as the moon made its dramatic sweep across the sky.
And at Stonehenge, where revellers gathered to celebrate the solstice, this unusual event put theories about the ancient monument to the test.
What is major lunar standstill?
Major lunar standstill is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along Earth’s horizon.
This astronomical event occurs once every 18.6 years, last occurring in 2006.
During a major lunar standstill, the northernmost and southernmost positions of the moon are at their furthest apart along the horizon.
It is believed that these distinct lunar movements may have been observed during the early phase of Stonehenge, potentially influencing the monument’s design and purpose.
Just like the Earth is slightly tilted on its axis, the moon’s orbit is also slightly tilted with respect to Earth.
Since the moon’s orbit is about five degrees off the Earth’s orbital plane, its position shifts North and South within a 57-degree range.
Once every 18.6 years, the moon reaches a point called a ‘major lunar standstill’ when moonrise and moonset are farthest apart along the horizon.
This gives the moon its highest and longest ark through the night sky, offering photographers great opportunities to snap some stunning pictures.
‘The major lunar standstill is a period of about one and a half to two years when the northernmost and southernmost moonrises (or sets) are furthest apart,’ said Dr Fabio Silva, senior lecturer in archaeological modelling at Bournemouth University.
‘When this happens the Moon rises (and sets) outside the range of sunrises and sets, which may have imbued this celestial phenomenon with meaning and significance.’
Keen stargazers captured images of the moon rising over cities all around the world thanks to clear skies – as this standstill event coincided with the full moon.
These photos even show the moon glowing above iconic structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Temple of Poseidon in Athens.
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But if you missed this weekend’s lunar standstill there is no need to worry, as there will be more opportunities throughout this year.
We are now entering the lunar standstill season which runs until late next year.
During this time the standstill will occur about twice for almost two years, although it will not always line up with a full moon, which happens about once a month.
Dr Fabio Silva said this ‘major lunar standstill season’ runs from February 2024 to November 2025.
‘It happens twice a month for about 1.5 to two years,’ he told MailOnline.
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As the moon orbits the Earth we can see more or less of the illuminated face, when the entire illuminated side is visible from Earth this is called a full moon.
Although the Strawberry Moon can take on an orange-red glow due to its low path over the horizon, this is not what gives the moon its name.
Every time the full moon appears, it’s given a nickname based on what month it is – so the ‘pink moon’ in April, ‘flower moon’ in May, ‘strawberry moon’ in June and so on.
These names are believed to be derived from Native American lunar calendars but were popularised through the publication of the Farmer’s Almanac.
However, it isn’t just Native American groups who measured time through the cycles of the moon.
In the UK, it is believed that neolithic structures like Stonehenge were built to align with the seasonal lunar cycle.
Some researchers believe that Stonehenge may have been deliberately built to align with the major lunar standstill.
Experts think that the standstill could align with the four ancient ‘station stones’ which mark the rectangular perimeter of the site.
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Although only two of these station stones currently survive, one of the sides appears to point in a southeastern direction – matching where the moon will rise during a major lunar standstill.
However, it is not yet clear where on the site an observer would need to stand to witness the rising or setting of the moon during this event.
Researchers from the universities of Oxford, Leicester and Bournemouth are planning on using the lunar standstill season to investigate the possible lunar alignment of the site.
Speaking to MailOnline in April, Dr Silva said: ‘We want to assess where one needs to stand, how many people could effectively witness the alignment, whether after rising/before setting the moon will be obscured by other stones that may diminish the experience, whether moonlight casts shadows inside the circle.
‘These are the things that, put together, may help us build an argument for or against these alignments.’
Full moon, supermoon, Cold moon: What’s the difference?
A FULL MOON is the phase of the moon in which its whole disc is illuminated.
During the 29.5-day lunar cycle, we observe a new moon (with 0 per cent illumination), a waxing moon (when the amount of illumination on the moon is increasing), a full moon (100 per cent illumination) and then a waning moon (when its visible surface area is getting smaller).
Because our modern calendar isn’t quite in line with the Moon’s phases, sometimes we get more than one full Moon in a month. This is commonly known as a blue moon.
Meanwhile, a SUPERMOON is when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth.
This means a supermoon can appear as much as 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it’s furthest away from Earth.
There are about three or four supermoons per year, most astronomy websites claim, and they happen at different times each year.
In a nutshell, a supermoon is a full moon. But it’s bigger and brighter than a normal full moon.
Lastly, COLD MOON simply refers to the time of the year the full moon is appearing.
In December, it’s known as Cold Moon because nights at this time of year are the longest and temperatures the most frigid.
Other months of the year correspond to different nicknames – so January is Wolf Moon, February is Snow Moon, March is Worm Moon, April is Pink Moon, May is Flower Moon, June is Strawberry Moon and so on.
Full moon names were historically used to track the seasons and therefore are closely related to nature.
The full list of full moon nicknames:
January: Wolf Moon because wolves were heard more often at this time.
February: Snow Moon to coincide with heavy snow.
March: Worm Moon as the Sun increasingly warmed the soil and earthworms became active.
April: Pink Moon as it heralded the appearance of Phlox subulata or moss pink – one of spring’s first flowers.
May: Flower Moon because of the abundance of blossoms.
June: Strawberry Moon because it appeared when the strawberry harvest first took place.
July: Buck Moon as it arrived when a male deer’s antlers were in full growth mode.
August: Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that was easily caught at this time.
September: Corn Moon because this was the time to harvest corn.
October: Hunter’s Moon after the time to hunt in preparation for winter.
November: Beaver Moon because it was the time to set up beaver traps.
December: Cold Moon because nights at this time of year were the longest.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
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