April Lowest Moon

As the Moon swings from her highest in the sky to her lowest, we’ve been looking out for her.

March

It was the half Moons either side of the Spring Equinox that were the absolute highest and lowest in the Moon’s 18.6 year cycle. 

April

As we move away from the Spring Equinox, we noticed that in April it would be more difficult to see the Moon at her highest as it happened in the daytime. So we didn’t post a blog to look out for the Moon. However, we have been able to see her quite clearly, even in the daytime. 

Have you noticed the height of the Moon?

She was at her highest on the 3rd April and from our observation she reached very high in our sky for days either side. Now, the Moon is descending and will be at her lowest on 18th April. We saw her yesterday and she’s already low. However, to see her at her lowest on the 18th April, you will need to be up early in the morning – 04:52!

When can we see the Moon?

With the Sun, it is easy to predict where it will be at anytime. The time the Sun rises and sets changes by a few minutes each day and it always reaches its highest in our sky around midday. However, the Moon is quite erratic and not so easy to observe making it more difficult to predict.

Highest and lowest Moons are easiest to notice at the solstices and equinoxes as it is easy to predict the location of the Moon according to the location of the Sun.

• WINTER SOLSTICE – lowest Sun of the year
New Moon (conjunct the Sun so cannot be seen) is the lowest New Moon of the year.
Full Moon (opposite the Sun) is the highest Full Moon of the year.

• SPRING & AUTUMN EQUINOX
Sun’s path in the sky is at an equal distance between its highest and lowest points.
Half Moons around the equinox are the highest and lowest Moons of the year.

• SUMMER SOLSTICE – highest Sun of the year
New Moon (conjunct the Sun so cannot be seen) is the highest New Moon of the year.
Full Moon (opposite the Sun) is the lowest Full Moon of the year.

This is always the case but during a Major Lunar Standstill, the highest and lowest are at their most extreme.

Moon rise and set times

Our Moon diary and calendars include the time the Moon rises and sets so you can work out that the Moon’s path will reach her peak in the sky about half way between the rise and set.

Our Journey

Back in 2006, we travelled up to the Callanish stone circle to witness the lowest full Moon in the lunar cycle. We’re now really excited to be preparing to make that journey once again, a whole lunar cycle later…

We leave in about 5 weeks time and will be travelling for over a month! There’s a lot that needs doing before then so we’re now on a countdown!

Tina & Ceri