High in the sky it shall stand …

You are here: Nature Science Photography – Natural light – The moon as a motif in the picture

First of all: Regardless of the seasons, the moon moves on different orbits during each monthly orbit around the earth, each culminating in points between 10° and about 60° elevation angle above the horizon. For example, the new moon of a month may rise in the southeast and set in the southwest, reaching a maximum elevation angle of 12°, whereas the following full moon may rise in the northeast and set in the northwest, reaching an elevation angle of 60°. However, over the seasons, the peaks of the orbits assigned to the respective lunar phases change. Practically expressed: The full moon stands higher in winter than in summer, and vice versa, the new moon stands lower in winter than in summer. The following series of numbers illustrate this:

New moon and elevation angle over the course of the year
21.01. : 12°
20.02. : 23°
20.03. : 42°
19.04. : 50°
19.05. : 50°
17.06. : 65°
17.07. : 65°
16.08. : 55°
14.09. : 45°
14.10. : 30°
12.11. : 20°
12.12. : 10°

Full moon and elevation angle over the course of the year
07.01. : 65°
06.02. : 60°
06.03. : 53°
05.04. : 38°
04.05. : 28°
03.06. : 15°
02.07. : 10°
31.07. : 12°
30.08. : 25°, 
28.09. : 35°
28.10. : 50°
26.11. : 50°
26.12 : 65°

From full moon to full moon in winter (January-February)
07.01.-06.02.
full moon : 65°
last quarter : 30°
new moon : 12°
first quarter : 54°
full moon : 50°

From full moon to full moon in summer (June-July)
03.06.-02.07.
full moon : 15°
last quarter : 28°
new moon : 55°
first quarter : 40°
full moon : 10°

(All values refer to Dortmund, Germany 51°52' north latitude and 07°47' east longitude)

The oblique position of our earth in space causes here for the moon orbit the same as for the apparent movement of the sun in the sky; it reverses it between winter and summer.
Figure 35

explains by the example of the monthly full moon why. During the northern summer, the earth’s northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, thereby moving away from the full moon, which is the exact opposite direction. In relation to this hemisphere, the inclination relations of the earth and the moon’s orbit are now partially offset, with only a small portion of the full moon’s orbit remaining above the horizon. Thus, the rising in the southeast and the setting in the southwest describe the narrowest orbit of the year, with the lowest maximum. The northern winter brings about a reversal of conditions, as the northern hemisphere now tilts away from the sun, thereby compounding the inclination conditions. So now a larger part of the full moon’s orbit comes to lie above the horizon, and La Luna reaches now almost the apex of the sky (zenith) on a much wider stretched orbit between northeast (rising) and northwest (setting) at a 60° elevation angle. But since the moon’s orbit moves counterclockwise around the earth as described above, this behavior does not remain constant, but the maximum and minimum values repeat themselves with the rhythm of a full rotation every 18.6 years.

Next … and rise and set on time

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