Sun and Moon

Recently, a local sailor and fisherman came to see me to ask about the Moon. He said he really couldn’t understand the movement of the Moon in the sky.

We are given to understand that the earth moves around the Sun and the Moon moves around the earth. Interestingly, when you observe them carefully you notice that they seem to follow the same pattern in the sky. Let us take a look at the four seasons.

Spring: At the spring equinox the Sun rises due east at 0 degrees Aries sign and in the constellation of Pisces (see chart—Inner circle shows Zodiac Signs, outer circle Zodiac Constellations) The Sun goes medium high in the sky and then sets exactly in the west. Equinox means that the day and the night are the same length of twelve hours.

Summer: At high summer, when the sun is just going into constellation of Gemini, it rises in the northeast, goes high up in the sky and sets in the northwest. At that time we have a very long day and a short night.

Autumn: At the autumnal equinox when the Sun is in constellation of Virgo it behaves the same as in spring, rising due east and setting in the west. Once again, we have equal day and night.

Winter: In the middle of winter, when the Sun is in the constellations of Sagittarius it rises in the southeast, stays relatively low in the sky even at noon and then sets in the southwest. At that time of year we get a very short period of daylight and a long period of darkness.

Moon Pattern: The Moon follows a similar pattern but what the Sun does in a year the Moon does in a month. Once every month, when the Moon is in the constellation of Pisces it too rises in the east and sets in the west just like the Sun at Spring-time. When the Moon is in the constellation of Gemini it behaves like the Sun in the summer; when it is in Virgo it behaves like the Sun in autumn and when it is in Sagittarius it follows the winter pattern. The Moon goes through all of the constellations each month, whereas the Sun takes a whole year to go through them all.

Moon Phases: At new Moon, the Sun and the Moon are together in the sky so that if the Sun is in Sagittarius, then so is the Moon and they will follow the same pattern in the sky. Of course you won’t then be able to see the Moon because it is overwhelmed by the light of the Sun.

The Moon and the Sun are opposite each other at full Moon. If it is winter and the Sun is in Sagittarius then the moon will be opposite in Gemini. So you can see that if there is a full Moon in the winter then the Sun will stay low all day whereas the Moon will follow the pattern of the summer Sun rising high in the sky and spend a long time in the night sky.

This year we should be able to see a beautiful full Moon at Christmas time. It is exact on Christmas Eve morning at 1:15 AM--see chart.