For those of you who know me, you know that I am a huge fan of the Full Moon. It is also known as the “New Moon.” For those of you who don’t know the full moon is a type of lunar eclipse that occurs when the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow as it moves from the Earth to the opposite side of the moon. The full moon is when the Moon’s light shines into Earth’s dark sky.
This week, the Full Moon will be visible in the evening sky for the first time. It will be known as the New Moon. (I know this is an oxymoron. I am making this up. I can’t help it.
The New Moon is when the moon is at its closest to Earth. It is the first moon to rise on the Full Moon, and is also known as the New Moon because it is the first moon to pass through the Earths shadow.
The New Moon is often used to mark the beginning of a new cycle, and thus the end of a cycle. This week on the New Moon, the moon will pass through the Earths shadow for the first time. If it passes through that shadow before the next full moon, then that moon will be known as the New/Full Moon Eclipse.
In the past, the New Moon and NewFull Moon Eclipses have occurred at the same time. The New Moon is when the moon’s fullness is greatest, and when a full moon is visible to the naked eye. The NewFull Moon Eclipse is when the moon’s fullness is at its greatest, and when the moon is visible to the naked eye.
This is the first full moon eclipse that has occurred in over a year. The next moon is the NewFull, occurring in February 2021, and the next full moon eclipse will occur in 2018.
The New Moon eclipse and NewFull Moon eclipse occur on the same day. This is also the first year that these eclipses have occurred in the same location. This is not the first full moon eclipse of the New Moon that has occurred in the last twenty-five years. In 2009, this eclipse occurred at the same time that the New Moon was at a point in the sky that was relatively close to the horizon.
For those of you who don’t believe that these planets align with the solstices or equinoxes, I can assure you that this is not the case, just like you don’t believe that the sun aligns with the full moon. As we all know and have noted in the past, the moon and sun travel in opposite directions, as do the planets. As the moon circles the sun, the sun moves in a circle around the moon.
Well, in the case of the moon, it has been going in a circle for about a year now. It will repeat this cycle until the next solstice occurs on February 25th, 2021. In fact, the moon will return back to perigee (the point in the sky when the night side is the closest to the Earth) on April 20th, 2021. So there will be only 18 solstices in one year. This cycle repeats every 4 years.
That is one of the most beautiful and interesting things about the moon. It seems to be a source of inspiration for all sorts of things. From rock climbing to astronomy to even religion. And even the sun will be moving in a similar way in the next few years, as it approaches the end of its cycle.