Thread: The Moons Orbit
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Old 21-11-2005, 07:18 AM
slice of heaven
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Or a quicker explanation
"At what is called the Major Lunar Standstill, the moon reaches its maximum northern and southern rising points on the horizon. Solstices of a kind, though this analogy is not really accurate. In the year of a major standstill it is the winter full moon which achieves the northerly rising extreme, and the summer full moon the southerly extreme. Also in a major standstill year, the arc of the moon across the sky can vacillate quite rapidly between being very high at times, to little more than skimming the horizon at others — a very dramatic and noticeable phenomenon, especially at higher latitudes. This is because in a single month in a Major Standstill year the moon’s orbit carries it well above and well below the ecliptic.
"At the Minor Standstill year, nine years and a few months later, the winter full moon rises as far south of the midsummer sun rise Position as it ever does while the midsummer full moon rises as far north of the midwinter sunrise position as it can. So the spread of the horizon between rising and setting positions is the narrowest that occurs."

I was being lazy on the first post, sorry
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