- The line formed by the Moon´s course on its 29-day journey around the sky is tilted slightly to the Ecliptic. This means that, while the Moon´s pathline intersects the Sun´s pathline (Ecliptic) twice during one lunation, its path is tilted slightly so that it separates from the Sun´s path by 5.15 degrees at maximum separation - a distance of roughly 10 moonwidths as seen by the observer.
- http://www.mythicalireland.com/astronomy/moonmovements/moonpath.html
- At most, 28.58º from the equator.
Note the Moon not only veering too far from the Ecliptic and Equator, but highly erratic!
Does not explain why the moon is barely creeping 25 degrees above the horizon during the half to full moon phase, and then why it shoots high into the sky and arcs over nearly above ones head during the last week of the lunar cycle!. This did not used to happen! Something has changed to make people start to question this now in the years 2003/2004. Prior to 2003/2 I never heard a word from anyone regarding how strange the moon looked/moved, not one word in my whole life!
My grandfather is 86 years old and it was he who told me this summer that in his whole life he had never seen the moon rising where it was in July. He has a telescope on the boathouse of his cottage and he told me he has been an avid moon watcher since a teenager.
Moon set too early [Aug 26] It´s now 11:51 PST and the moon is just now touching the southwestern horizon, leaving the sky 4 hours too early, and a full 38 degrees off from the Sun´s set at about 7:30 this evening. It never rose higher then 40 degrees azimuth from level. It was a rise in the deep southeast; a fast clip along the southern horizon; and is already set in the southwest. In short, the moon never left the southern skies, never rose, never followed the ecliptic of the sun, and has set a full 4 hours earlier than it should have, according to ephemeris data, and star charts.
I noticed the moon yesterday [Aug 26] rising in the southeast here in south central Texas. I noticed it did not rise high in the sky as usual and it set in the southwest around 2or 3 AM central time.
The moon has been rising in different positions. One night it will be southeast. The next night it will rise directly south. It recently rose west-southwest! The moon had risen on the western side of my apartment building.