Astronomy, The Sky and Outer Space

Hello, Looking out of my lounge window, just rising is a big moon, that during the night becomes a full moon. Then at dawn, just prior to it setting in the west, it becomes a red moon, through a period of eclipse. As I'm looking now, cloud is hiding it.

And typical, overcast, after a brilliantly clear full moon in the very early hours this morning. BTW, the full moon in March is known as the Worm Moon, if it occurrs on or after 21st March. If before the 21st, one of the many other names it's known by is the Crow Moon. See the list below for other some of the other names. •  Paschal Moon •  Lenten Moon •  Crust Moon •  Chaste Moon •  Sugar Moon •  Sap Moon

So what is the origin of those terms? The moon must have played such a part of peoples lives at some point, today its just a shiny rock in the night and sometimes day sky. The tides yes are influenced and predicted by the moon phases, do those names have any relevance to this phenomenon?

Gumnut, the short answer is yes, a very important part. Depending on the country of origin, these names evolved around pagan and prehistoric understandings. You'll note for the Worm Moon name, the decisive date also marks the Spring Equinox. If you have a look at one of many websites I use, Time & Date, they have a page HERE dedicated to the various names attributed to the full moon, and the basics behind the origins. The sun, moon, stars and many planetary aspects played a very large part in prehistoric humans, not just here, but around the world. There is a book published annually, called Gardening and planting By The Moon, avaialble from most good book sellers, online or over the counter and well worth a nosy. With today's science, some crops are grown under artificial conditions, using controlled irrigation and artificial light. Subterranean Horticulture, or as it seems to be called these days, Vertical Horticulture. Once Sci-Fi stuff and 21st Century, today, almost a daily reality.

Hello, An odd post from me mixing Astronomy with astrology. This is a headline from an Astronomical journal. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn will be spread across the sky from east to west about 30 minutes before sunrise, local time. A sky chart showing where Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn will appear in the early morning sky during the first part of September. This year has been notable for planetary alignments, but for me, this one in September is special. Uranus, cannot be seen without using a telescope or good bins as it's around the limit of human visibility of around 6, but good eyesight & away from artificial light, it can be seen. Meanwhile during the daytimes, the sun is passing through the constellation of Virgo. The moon joins the crowd at the point of the equinox. I've never paid attention to astrology, I have avoided it, yet the Magi saw the birth of Christ in the skies. I believe that to be true. A price may have been put on their heads for disobeying Herod. Herod was a Roman client king. I've copied this about the constellation of Virgo. Virgo constellation Virgo is a large and distinctive constellation that dominates the sky. The Virgin is a lovely Goddess of Wheat and Agriculture, standing upright with arms slightly outstretched. She holds a long ear of corn in her hand. I've posted an image which is not so decorated so not to obliterate the stars. I'm caught up with this astronomical event, mixing with astrology, as it's possibly aligned with a biblical prophecy, which is one of the reasons that I have stopped posting my own prime posts on our Wellbeing topic. Revelation Chapter twelve, verse 1. Then the same chapter but verse 6. Mixing astronomy with astrology, I'm never going to argue, but I'm more than happy to answer publicly any questions from any member, either here or on the wellbeing topic. Again, I will never preach or argue, plus I'm not a prophet. I will always remain sensitive & loyal to our forum membership rules.

Hello, My practical interest in the subject of Astronomy, started in earnest in 1962, where I had a table mounted sky map, that I posted the positions of the wandering objects, the planets, moon & anything that was in news. I enjoyed the patterns made by the wanderers set against the apparent fixed positions of the stars, made all the more interesting by the fact that we on planet Earth are also moving. I've shared stories about my astronomical interest on here previously. The moon was the first object that caused me to query the age of our Earth, well before I had a "Faith in Scripture knowledge. In 1969, I was reading a text book by Astronomer Fred Hoyle, who stated that the earth was 4billion years old. Current theories say 6.4 billion. 1969, was the year of the NASA, moon landing, where the precise calculations showed that our moon, is moving away from earth at 1-1/2inches per year. Doesn't sound very far until we ask where was the moon 4billion years ago. It would have been half as close as it is now. The laws of gravity on an object the size of the moon at 130,000 miles away, instead of 250,000 would not allow it to function. The moon would behave like a giant meteorite. World's in Collision kind of thing. I'm not scientist, but I can do my sums, forwards or backwards. I've asked eminent scientists this question. The honest ones simply tell me we don't know. The others fluff their answers with speculation theory on theory, but can never do the sums. What do you think? The moon has an enormous affect on our planet. The obvious one is the tides. It also distorts the shape of the earth, causing a plasma shift. So just try to picture using the gravity formulae if the moon was so close. The crescent moon is passing in front of Mars this month, causing a Martian conjuction, which is what prompted me to share this oddity. Have a good day all.

Howdy Philip Reality isn't like a model that you can dial backwards and forwards. There are perturbations. Some small, some large. Without knowing all the perturbations, you can't say for sure what happened and why. Which is the same as 'I don't know' but I do know why I don't know. Since there are no long term observations of the moon or the earth, how could we know? There are theories that claim that the moon was the leftovers of a dual planetary collision that divided the matter between the resulting Earth and the moon. It suggests that explains Earth's mix of elements. Is that true? Could be. We do know that the Earth and the moon have been peppered with objects and while no one object makes a difference, time and quantity might. Could there have been a near miss of a much larger body that could have affected the whole solar system? We know that massive earthquakes can move the whole planet, can moonquakes do the same? Plate tectonics * are a reasonable explanation of geology and even zoology but what effect might that have on the very motion of the Earth and by association, the moon? What effect have ice ages had? Locking up more water at the poles should have changed the planet's motion. We do know that the tilt of the planet's axis changes. Even the change in life on the planet may have had an effect. All that may have affected the relationship between the Earth and the moon. Science is all about 'why?' and in many ways is one of humanity's greatest attributes. Our whole universe is full of questions and clues to the answers. It would be silly to stop at the first explanation we come up with. Like with kids, as humanity grows up we get more ingenious toys to play with. The discovery of magnetic zebra stripes in the Atlantic floor was freaking amazing!

Helen, Philip, it's a wonder you two have not already booked your interplanetary tickets to - out there - somewhere. Just imagine what the future may hold for our younger generations. You know the old saying - They walk among us !

Hello, The possibilities with that are endless. Nobody could have predicted the asteroid crashing into the planet Jupiter a decade ago. The one subject that always has to add up is Mathematics. Also the formulae of motion. Like I believe most folk, I was a sceptic of the Lock ness monster stories. Thought it was a tourism hoax. That's until I selected it as a for & against argument comparison for my audit examinations sixty years ago. I examined all of the known witness reports, where I listed them as either rubbish or credible. It was that analysis that steered me to changing my mind. Whilst some witness statements were odd, seventeen were very plausible. The examination did not want the inclusion of biological or physical eveidence. Since my examination date, there have been a number of (big fish) skeletons dragged up in trawler nets that have been of interest but it's the witness evidence that I pay more attention to.

I don't fancy the bathroom arrangements To return to my post, the date of the Earth's beginning isn't a straightforward question either. At what point do you consider it finished? For a long time the stuff that the moon and the planet were made of would have continued to be added. At what point were the oceans 'complete'? Whether as stable water or only in the atmosphere. At what point was there an atmosphere to retain it? Some of the most recent documentaries are chock full of these questions. Fantastic stuff. Added - yes, the mathematics does have to add up but there are very many affecting equations and starting conditions.

How about this for an equation? A Russian fisherman picked this one up in his net. It's a juvenile too. The teeth give that away. Also, it had fresh water in it, even fished at sea. Sinking melting ice sinks to the great depths creating fresh water layers. "Put me back, I want to go to mummy" Imagine seeing that after a night at Wetherspoons.

While we're on fun facts - the Sun is about 400 times larger than the Moon, but it is also about 400 times farther away from Earth. This creates a ratio of size to distance that makes them appear to have the same angular size when viewed from Earth. This allows the Moon to completely block the Sun's disk during a total solar eclipse. That's a co-incidence that makes you think twice...

Hello, There's a complication regards the sun too. The sun is losing mass. According to astronomers, a point is reached where that reverses, where the helium content is replaced by another element that starts to add mass, eventually turning the sun into a red giant. That level of physics & chemistry, I'm totally out of my depth, so rely on professional information, but it must always add up. It's when there's a fudge in the maths that I become a sceptic. Or is that septic. Talk about add up! My mini cod & chips over £7.

Hi Philip Are you "back-projecting" at a constant rate of 1 1/2 inches per year to reach that "half as close" point? I'm no astrophysicist either, but surely the effects of gravity on the moon would be reducing as it gets further away from the Earth, so that the Moon has been accelerating away from us all this time. The gravity effect would have been greater in earlier days, and the rate of separation would have been lower. The Moon would therefore have been much further than half-way 4 billion years ago. Does that make sense?

Hello Johnnie, The moon drifting away was confirmed in 1969, but had been suggested much earlier. The rate may fluctuate in an orbital cycle of between one inch & three inches per year. So I've used the generally held view that the calculation would in 5 billion years bring the moon 117,000 nearer to the earth. One Google model puts the moon at 80,000 miles away. So much of my experience on these "how high is the sky questions", is based on human reaction & behaviour. Not just the physics. My only reliable tool is sums. Example -: If I was performing a financial audit, where the company accountant brought me a completely new statement, after one of our team had previously queried an entry, we called that the re-write syndrome. Usually, many more would follow. That in itself raised more questions than answers. So it is with so much science. It keeps being 're-written. Now, you know that I have an absolute trust in scripture. I'm divorcing that from this discussion, not easy, so I'm going back to my mindset of the sixties, where I had more questions than answers, even before the book of Genesis took centre stage as it does now. The moon has always fascinated me, being our closest natural astronomical body. Saying about patterns of human behaviour. Earliest Greek mythology records every planet that we today can see with our naked eye, with the exception of Venus. Yet, after the moon, it's our brightest regular sky object. So maybe Dr. Velikovsky was correct regards his world's in Collision theories. I simply don't know. I remember Sir Patrick Moore, who was an atheist, saying that he has more questions than answers. This is a new headline in a scientific journal now. "New Subatomic Particles Are Shifting the Standard Model of Physics" So as fast as we try to extend our knowledge upwards, it's extending in the micro world just as fast. If we had a Nutwood lift like Rupert had to go to China through the centre of the Earth, that went to Australia as well, I would pop down to see you. Just be grateful that there isn't one.