Stupid Stuff - Arvo Full Moon

[N1 (Mirko)]

You had one job - write an article about tomorrow's full moon

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/wea...test-supermoon

"If you look up in the sky at around 2.30pm on Wednesday afternoon, you might catch a glimpse of the supermoon.
According to Time and Date, the moon will peak above New Zealand at 2.35pm. It is expected to be the biggest and brightest of the year."

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Well - the astronomical time of the actual Full Moon is indeed 02:35 UTC, which would be 2:35 pm in NZ - but yeah - mid-afternoon is not a great time to be watching a Full Moon! (You'd think most journalists would have noticed that you very rarely see a Full Moon in the afternoon sky - even if they're not avid sky-watchers. )

(I'd suggest leaving it until at least 6:00 - 7:00 pm local time - wherever you happen to be.)

[N1 (Mirko)]

It's out now, just had a look...no different to any other full moon. Oh well I'm probably just ignorant

[JeniSkunk (Jenifur)]

Originally Posted by julianh72

Well - the astronomical time of the actual Full Moon is indeed 02:35 UTC, which would be 2:35 pm in NZ - but yeah - mid-afternoon is not a great time to be watching a Full Moon! (You'd think most journalists would have noticed that you very rarely see a Full Moon in the afternoon sky - even if they're not avid sky-watchers. )

(I'd suggest leaving it until at least 6:00 - 7:00 pm local time - wherever you happen to be.)

I agree that it is not a great time to be viewing, but it's not an impossible time.

At the Nundah Star Party last year, we were at the location, setting up, and observing the moon, at about the same time of day you made your post. On 2019-09-07, the moon was 64% waxing gibbous. By approx 3:30pm some folks, including me, were set up and already observing the moon, in the mid afternoon sky.

Added to that, 2 days prior to the Nundah Star Party, 2020-09-05, I spent the best part of an hour and a half observing the moon, from about 2:20pm through to about 4:00pm.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...01#post1444601

[N1 (Mirko)]

Originally Posted by JeniSkunk

I agree that it is not a great time to be viewing, but it's not an impossible time.

At the Nundah Star Party last year, we were at the location, setting up, and observing the moon, at about the same time of day you made your post. On 2019-09-07, the moon was 64% waxing gibbous. By approx 3:30pm some folks, including me, were set up and already observing the moon, in the mid afternoon sky.

Added to that, 2 days prior to the Nundah Star Party, 2020-09-05, I spent the best part of an hour and a half observing the moon, from about 2:20pm through to about 4:00pm.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...01#post1444601

Yes, daytime lunar observing can be great fun, but trying to find the full moon in the afternoon is not.
OTOH it is possible to see a large moon (apparent size) during the day, for example when perigee occurs during first or last quarter.