its been full moon weekend this past week. and i must say i love the Full Moon. its my favorite body in the night sky.
i have been reading several books and websites and i now have an idea of how the full moon occurs. It occurs when the Moon is directly opposite the sun and the Earth is in the middle. so when light from the sun falls on the moon's surface, it is reflected back and since its directly opposite and we are in the middle, we shall see a Full Moon.
It gets in the way of observing deep sky stuff, and it dominates the whole night, so I generally experience it as an annoyance. Still, if the scope is away, and I am ambling in the evening with my beloved, it does make a nice naked eye view.
Yeh agreed, as an object I love viewing the full moon, especially when it's just rising over the horizon.
But for deep-space observing and imaging, it makes it virtually impossible.
btw Joash, if you want to learn more about how the night sky works (why there's a full moon, new moon etc), then check out the Astronomy 161 Podcasts thread and get into listening to them. Absolutely brilliant for learning the history and how's and why's of the night sky.
I voted that I'm not sure.
At times I hate it especially when there is something extraordinary on the Astronomical calender.
At times I love it. A moonlight stroll after dinner in the cool of the evening is just the thing after a hot day.
i voted yes because apart from romantic aspect the streets are lit, no need for flashlight when going for a nightly walk, although some people seem to act strangely around that time, but i'm not sure if it's real or because people believe it(placebo effect)
I'm a sort of occasional imager so it doesn't bother me in that respect. I do love to walk out in the garden at night in the moonlight, so I voted yes.
Since this is an astronomy forum I'll vote 'no'. The moon is generally a hindrance to astronomy. Of course, without it there would be no grazing occultations, which I really enjoy. I also think the ASWA idea of having a specialist moon observing night (the Lunatiks) is great. They turn what many see as a negative into a positive. Observing on those nights is apparently very 'comfortable' in that they can observe from a suburban location and light from laptops etc is not an issue.
I also agree that the full moon can look great. I really like camping in summer between first quarter and full moon. Between the long days and plenty of moonlight you can get away without any artificial light. Very relaxing.
i voted yes because apart from romantic aspect the streets are lit, no need for flashlight when going for a nightly walk, although some people seem to act strangely around that time, but i'm not sure if it's real or because people believe it(placebo effect)
I voted yes. I just love the full moon.
Cerberus, they are not called lunatics for nothing. Just ask any police person or anyone who works in an emergency room and the will all tell you it's a fact:people go loonie on the full moon; I know I'm one of them (manic cackling as I type).
I love the Full Moon,because with the right filters you can still observe with it.
Also its great to show people clusters and some of the brighter DSO's and not have them needing their torches to find their way around in the dark.
I also Love the Dark Moonless Nights.
Ron
Cerberus, they are not called lunatics for nothing. Just ask any police person or anyone who works in an emergency room and the will all tell you it's a fact:people go loonie on the full moon; I know I'm one of them (manic cackling as I type).
Gazz
I voted yes. I like the full moon. It's beautiful.
And, yes, many police and hospital staff may well tell you that people go off on a full moon, but they're usually wrong. Most who say that, don't know phase the moon is at any given time, or have any interest whatsoever in the sky.
Full Moon Weekend
