Star Calendar November 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon sweeps the foot of Gemini on the first evening of November, then wends its waning way with early morning visitations to Regulus, Jupiter, Venus/Mars and Spica during the subsequent week. On the 12th The Moon serves as an aid to our last… Continue reading
By the Dark of the Moon … … indeed the last eclipse was darker than most — but not as dark as I had hoped for. From Spaceweather.com: “LUNAR ECLIPSE DETECTS GLOBAL COOLING (BUT ONLY A LITTLE): On Sept. 27th, people on five continents watched the Moon pass through the… Continue reading
Star Calendar October 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon moves through the stars, eastward, at its own diameter every hour, or, 13 degrees per day, or, one season per week — as noted below. Mercury is pretty bright now and is at greatest elongation mid-month. Those with a clear view to… Continue reading
Star Calendar September 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon will be waning as September opens and the ecliptic especially steep to the horizon in the morning. This circumstance will show especially thin and horizontal crescents on the 11/12th. New Moon begins the Hebrew new year (Rosh Hashanah) 5776 Anno Mundi. Moon’s… Continue reading
Star Calendar August 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon will now be Full near the ends of the months for a while. This month will have two occasions of perigee occurring within 24 hours of syzygy; look for Spring Tide inundations on the 1st and 30th. New Moon is timed for… Continue reading
Star Calendar July 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon is Full at both ends of this month; but most comely when a companion young crescent around the 18th. Mercury slips behind the Sun on the 23rd. Our next chance to see Mercury may come August 16th, beside a crescent Moon. Venus… Continue reading
Star Calendar June 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon opens the month large in phase and casting long shadows – sometimes being completely obscured by foliage and other horizon clutter. The low-running Full Moon of June contrasts with the height of the Sun. Harken back to the December Full Moon that… Continue reading
Star Calendar May 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon marks the vernal equinox point as it rises 4-5 AM as a waning crescent on the 14th. On the 20th the Moon crosses the summer colure (but somewhat below the ecliptic) and one can then see/feel how far it is to summer… Continue reading
Star Calendar April 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon and Sun cycles interacting generate the modern (Mainmonedesian) “lunisolar” Hebrew calendar. The calendar day begins just after evening civil twilight with the light and dark portions each then being divided into 12 hours. The month begins with the evening following New Moon…. Continue reading
Star Calendar March 2015 Star Calendar Planets: Moon casts a perigee-large shadow on the earth, a total solar eclipse, just as the spring Sun rises at the north pole – after a 6-month night. Technically it is a near-miss – but the fact of atmospheric refraction makes the apparent, observable… Continue reading