<< Feature Articles >> The Lunar Standstill 2006 at Callanish and elsewhere
Submitted by Vicky on Tuesday, 12 September 2006 Page Views: 21081
Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: Scotland County: Isle of Lewis Type: Stone CircleInternal Links:
Over the course of the next few months we will all be witness to a strange heavenly phenomenon, known as the Lunar Standstill.
You may have heard about this in connection with the stones of Callanish (Calanais), but what is actually going to happen? Here, Vicky Morgan explains the effect. The moon moves through a cycle every 18.6 years and at the extremes of that cycle it rises at its most northerly point, and two weeks later sets at its most southerly.
Evidence from many prehistoric sites throughout the country indicates that the ancient builders were aware of this standstill, where the moon appears so close that you can almost touch it, and some may have been deliberately designed to incorporate the observation of this rare event.
Lunar standstills are effectively the same as solstices are for the sun, but whereas the sun reaches the solstice twice a year, at midsummer in June and midwinter in December, lunar standstills follow an 18.6 year cycle, with 2006 being the year of the Major Standstill and 2015 the Minor (when the moon will rise at its least northerly and set and its least southerly point).
Lunar standstills occur at times when the moon reaches its most extreme point in relation to the horizon, i.e. when it is at its highest and lowest point in the sky, and it appears to hover or stand still for a brief period before retracing its steps. At this time when the moon is closest to the horizon, an optical illusion makes it seem much larger. The further north you travel, the more impressive the phenomenon is.
The moon will reach its furthest south at the end of September in 2006, but for a few months either side it will be almost as impressive, making the summer months the perfect time to witness this rare event.
One of the most spectacular places to view this is at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis where research has shown that the moon appears to rise from the hills of what is known as The Sleeping Beauty, skim the horizon and then set, briefly reappearing between the stones of the central circle.
More on the 2006 southern moon skim at Callanish can be found on web pages of Gerald Ponting, who along with his ex-wife Margaret (now Curtis) first documented the effect at Callanish.
You can also visit a web-cam set up by Victor Reijs which if we are very lucky will show the event live!
And of course you can see more photos of Callanish on our main Portal page for the site and surroundings.
Note: Radio Programme this week: Lesley's On The Bike - Uig Storytelling and Moon over Callanish, see comment
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