Full moon on January 23-24, 2016

Tonight: January 23, 2016

This full moon falls on January 24 at 1:46 Universal Time. Although the moon turns full at the same instant worldwide, the clock time – and possibly the date – differ by time zone. For the mainland United States, the moon reaches the crest of its full phase on this Saturday evening on January 23 at 8:46 p.m. EST, 7:46 p.m. CST, 6:46 p.m. MST or5:46 p.m. PST.

The January 2016 full moon counts as the second full moon after the December solstice. In North America, we often call this full moon the Wolf Moon, Snow Moon or Hunger Moon.

Astronomically speaking, the moon is full at the moment that it’s most opposite the sun in its orbit (180o from the sun in celestial or ecliptic longitude). For general reference, however, we can say the moon is full all night tonight, lighting up the nighttime from dusk until dawn.

Elsewhere around the world, the moon reaches the crest of its full phase at different times on the clock. Looking at the worldwide map below, you can see that the full moon comes at midnight for the Atlantic Ocean, noon for the Pacific Ocean, sunset (January 23) in Alaska and sunrise (January 24) in Asia. All these places will see a full-looking moon lighting up the sky tonight from dusk until dawn.

But to see the moon at the instant of a full moon, the moon has to be above your horizon on the nighttime side of the world.

In both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the January sun – unlike the January full moon – rises south of due east and sets south of due west. In the Northern Hemisphere, these far-southern risings and settings of the sun give us the short days of winter. South of the equator, the same far-southern sunrises and sunsets bring long summer days. Meanwhile, the full moon lies opposite the sun, mirroring the sun’s place in front of the backdrop stars for six months hence.

And that’s why tonight’s moon – like the sun in summer – will follow a high path across the sky as seen from the northern part of the globe – and a low path as seen from the southern.

This January full moon rises north of due east around sunset, climbs highest in the sky around midnight and sets north of due west around sunrise.

Can you tell me the full moon names?

EarthSky // Astronomy Essentials, Science Wire    

Release Date: Jan 23, 2016

For both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the full moons have names corresponding to the calendar months or the seasons of the year

Some almanacs like to give each month a special full moon name. Other almanacs like to reference full moons relative to seasonal markers, as defined by equinoxes and solstices. Is one way better than the other? No. Both have their roots in folklore. Of course, both the monthly names and the seasonal names necessarily favor either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. That’s because the moon has different characteristics in the two hemispheres, at opposite times of the year. For example, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. So it falls in September or October for the Northern Hemisphere, and it falls in March or April for the Southern Hemisphere.

Full moon setting. Photo credit-Carl Galloway

Northern Hemisphere full moon names by month:

January: Old Moon, Moon After Yule

February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon

March: Sap Moon, Crow Moon, Lenten Moon

April: Grass Moon, Egg Moon

May: Planting Moon, Milk Moon

June: Rose Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon

July: Thunder Moon, Hay Moon

August: Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon

September: Fruit Moon, Harvest Moon

October: Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon

November: Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon

December: Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

Southern Hemisphere full moon names by month:

January: Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Mead Moon

February (mid-summer): Grain Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Wyrt Moon, Corn Moon, Dog Moon, Barley Moon

March: Harvest Moon, Corn Moon

April: Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon

May: Hunter’s Moon, Beaver Moon, Frost Moon

June: Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Long Night’s Moon

July: Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon

August: Snow Moon, Storm Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon

September: Worm Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, Sap Moon

October: Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Pink Moon, Waking Moon

November: Corn Moon, Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Hare Moon

December: Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, Rose Moon

***About once every 19 years, February has no full moon at all.***

Moreover, in 7 out of every 19 years, two full moons will fall in the same calendar month. The second of the month’s two full moons is popularly referred to as a Blue Moon.

Full moon names by season (Northern or Southern Hemisphere):

After the winter solstice:

Old Moon, or Moon After Yule

Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon

Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Lenten Moon

After the spring equinox:

Grass Moon, or Egg Moon

Planting Moon, or Milk Moon

Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon

After the summer solstice:

Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon

Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon

Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon

After the autumnal equinox:

Harvest Moon, or Hunter’s Moon

Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon

Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

There are usually three full moons in between an equinox and a solstice, or vice versa. Seven times in 19 years, four full moons fall in a single season. In that case, the third of a season’s four full moons is also called a Blue Moon. The next Blue Moon by this definition will happen on May 21, 2016.

Thank you, Skeen! You’re Awesome! ❤

Stargate Rewind

A special event on Facebook 😉 hosted by Moi.

so I guess I confused everyone last night… 😛

However, I didn’t want people to start watching a show without a basis of what it’s about. So last night we jumped into the Gate watching the original Stargate Movie.

Today, however, the official rewind starts with the first season of Stargate SG:1  and the first two episodes: Children of the Gods Part 1 and 2.

why two episodes? Well, why not? lol I mean we do have 10 seasons to get through. And honestly, I’m used to watching four episodes on a weekend night, so I’m splitting that in half and yeah… lol

And wow, I learnt a lot about hosting a Virtual event! lots of fun, but still a bit confusing at times, between watching the movie and posting on the phone…Hubs threatening to turn the movie off unless I was paying attention. LOL But it all turned out okay, I hope for everyone that was participating.

Also, not everyone has the DVD’s and that might be a cause for concern, however, some others that are participating suggested going to your local library and checking out the series. And someone else mentioned an app: Hoopla (click for the 411), there is also Hulu online- sorry not free anymore! please leave comments if you know of other online viewing sources, and thank you in advance!

so for those that aren’t able to join us tonight and/or would like a brief synopsis of these episodes here ya go Spoilerish! also be warned-I believe there is brief nudity in this episode.

And for those that don’t know why I chose today to start this rewind??

It’s Richard Dean Anderson’s birthday!! 

Yeah, I’m a total nerd! lol 😛

I hope this entry on Facebook clarifies a few things! We’ll kick off today at five o’clock EST.  And again, I’ll do a 1/2 hour and 15-minute warning. Hope to see you there! 😀

IOTD