Tonight – October 26, 2015 – if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, start watching for the full Hunter’s Moon. Full moon comes on October 27 at 12:05 UTC. At United States time zones, that places the time of the full moon in the morning hours on October 27, at 8:05 a.m. EDT, 7:05 a.m. CDT, 6:05 a.m. MDT or 5:05 a.m. PDT. Thus the October 26 moon – for us in the U.S. – will be just as close to full as the moon you’ll see ascending over the horizon on the evening of October 27.
No matter where you live worldwide, look for a full-looking moon in the east as the sun goes down on October 26 and 27!
The inclination of our moon’s orbital plane will cause the moon to rise further north along the eastern horizon each day for nearly all of the upcoming week. For the Northern Hemisphere, these more northerly moonrises bring about sooner-than-average moonrises, which is the legacy of the Hunter’s Moon.
Everything you need to know: Hunter’s Moon
2015 Hunter’s Moon is a supermoon: Bigger and brighter than usual.
Read about the Hunter’s Moon on October 27
Minor lunar standstill makes a subtle Hunter’s Moon in 2015
EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Supplies limited.
On the night of October 26, 2015, the faint planet Uranus will be shining, invisibly, near the moon.
By the way, Uranus is still near the moon on October 26, 2015. But Uranus, seventh planet outward from the sun, appears – at best – as a faint speck of light to the eyes alone on a dark, moonless night. You need exceptional vision to see this distant world without an optical aid, even under the best conditions. Here’s a good sky chart, if you actually want to see Uranus.
Just be aware Uranus is up there. And think about the fact that Uranus is a real oddity in that it goes around the sun “sideways,” with its rotational axis almost lining up with its orbital plane. In contrast, the rotational axis of our planet Earth is inclined about 23.5o out of perpendicular to our orbital plane.
The orbital planes of Uranus’ major moons pretty much coincide with the planet’s equatorial plane. That’s in spite of the fact that Uranus’ equatorial plane is nearly perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the sun.
As a general rule, the major moons in our solar system orbit their parent planets above their respective planets’ equators. There are a few exceptions: Saturn’s moon Iapetus, Neptune’s moon Triton – and, perhaps most significantly to us earthlings: Earth’s moon.
Our moon doesn’t orbit the Earth above our planet’s equator (0o latitude). Rather the moon’s orbital plane is highly inclined to the Earth’s equatorial plane. The moon’s orbital path took the moon to an extreme of 18.2o south of the celestial equator on October 18, and then the moon will swing a northerly extreme of 18.2o north of the celestial equator on October 31.
If the moon’s orbital plane – like that of Uranus’ moons – coincided with our planet’s equatorial plane, our moon would always rise due east and set due west – meaning no Hunter’s Moon in autumn.
Near-infrared image of the ice giant Uranus , its rings and some of its moons. Image credit: European Southern Observatory
Bottom line: To the eye, the moon will appear full as the sun sets on October 26. Watch for it in the east as soon as the sun goes down. Full moon comes on October 27 at 8:05 a.m. EDT (12:05 UTC). The planet Uranus is near the moon on the sky’s dome on the night of October 26, but don’t expect to see it without a careful search and optical aid. If you really want to see Uranus, best to wait until the moon moves away.
Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops for September-December, 2015
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1Gsf9mt
Tonight – October 26, 2015 – if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, start watching for the full Hunter’s Moon. Full moon comes on October 27 at 12:05 UTC. At United States time zones, that places the time of the full moon in the morning hours on October 27, at 8:05 a.m. EDT, 7:05 a.m. CDT, 6:05 a.m. MDT or 5:05 a.m. PDT. Thus the October 26 moon – for us in the U.S. – will be just as close to full as the moon you’ll see ascending over the horizon on the evening of October 27.
No matter where you live worldwide, look for a full-looking moon in the east as the sun goes down on October 26 and 27!
The inclination of our moon’s orbital plane will cause the moon to rise further north along the eastern horizon each day for nearly all of the upcoming week. For the Northern Hemisphere, these more northerly moonrises bring about sooner-than-average moonrises, which is the legacy of the Hunter’s Moon.
Everything you need to know: Hunter’s Moon
2015 Hunter’s Moon is a supermoon: Bigger and brighter than usual.
Read about the Hunter’s Moon on October 27
Minor lunar standstill makes a subtle Hunter’s Moon in 2015
EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Supplies limited.
On the night of October 26, 2015, the faint planet Uranus will be shining, invisibly, near the moon.
By the way, Uranus is still near the moon on October 26, 2015. But Uranus, seventh planet outward from the sun, appears – at best – as a faint speck of light to the eyes alone on a dark, moonless night. You need exceptional vision to see this distant world without an optical aid, even under the best conditions. Here’s a good sky chart, if you actually want to see Uranus.
Just be aware Uranus is up there. And think about the fact that Uranus is a real oddity in that it goes around the sun “sideways,” with its rotational axis almost lining up with its orbital plane. In contrast, the rotational axis of our planet Earth is inclined about 23.5o out of perpendicular to our orbital plane.
The orbital planes of Uranus’ major moons pretty much coincide with the planet’s equatorial plane. That’s in spite of the fact that Uranus’ equatorial plane is nearly perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the sun.
As a general rule, the major moons in our solar system orbit their parent planets above their respective planets’ equators. There are a few exceptions: Saturn’s moon Iapetus, Neptune’s moon Triton – and, perhaps most significantly to us earthlings: Earth’s moon.
Our moon doesn’t orbit the Earth above our planet’s equator (0o latitude). Rather the moon’s orbital plane is highly inclined to the Earth’s equatorial plane. The moon’s orbital path took the moon to an extreme of 18.2o south of the celestial equator on October 18, and then the moon will swing a northerly extreme of 18.2o north of the celestial equator on October 31.
If the moon’s orbital plane – like that of Uranus’ moons – coincided with our planet’s equatorial plane, our moon would always rise due east and set due west – meaning no Hunter’s Moon in autumn.
Near-infrared image of the ice giant Uranus , its rings and some of its moons. Image credit: European Southern Observatory
Bottom line: To the eye, the moon will appear full as the sun sets on October 26. Watch for it in the east as soon as the sun goes down. Full moon comes on October 27 at 8:05 a.m. EDT (12:05 UTC). The planet Uranus is near the moon on the sky’s dome on the night of October 26, but don’t expect to see it without a careful search and optical aid. If you really want to see Uranus, best to wait until the moon moves away.
Astronomy events, star parties, festivals, workshops for September-December, 2015
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1Gsf9mt
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