Beijing, August 4 (Reporter Shangguan Yun) From the evening of the 3rd to the 4th, the "round moon" brushed the circle of friends. Many people rushed to post photos of the moon and set off a round of fancy "moon shooting" competitions.
Like to take beautiful pictures of the moon, nothing strange. However, this time the moon has a little special: according to calculations, on the fourteenth day of June in this year's lunar calendar, the fullest moment of the moon happened to appear at the "last moment" of the day, that is, at 23:59 on August 3.
Data map: The moon rises in Beijing's Beihai Park on August 3. It is reported that in the sixth month of the lunar calendar in the year of the Gengzi rat in 2020, the fifteenth moon is "fourteen round", and the roundest time appears at 23:59 on August 3. According to astronomical experts, the phenomenon of "fifteen moons and fourteen circles" is relatively rare, and it will only occur 6 times in the 21st century. Photo by Du Yang, a reporter from China News Service
"Fifteen moons and fourteen circles", why is this?
"Fourteen moons patted you"
"Fifteen moons and sixteen rounds." This has almost become a well-known saying. However, on the fourteenth day of the sixth month of this year's lunar calendar, there is a "fifteenth moon fourteen round".
The meaning of this sentence is probably that on the fourteenth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar in the Year of the Rat, the fullest moment of the moon happens to appear at the last moment of the day, that is, at 23:59 on August 3.
Some netizens have posted photos taken that night, and a bright moon in the night sky looks beautiful and looks very "healing". There are many people who make a wish, "I hope that those who see this moon will have good luck in the future." ”
Some people regret that they could not enjoy this rare full moon due to weather reasons, and the next time will be until June 27, 2037, 17 years later, that is, the fourteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar.
In fact, the reason why this full moon has attracted attention has a certain relationship with its rarity. According to multiple media reports, this phenomenon has only appeared six times in the hundred years of the 21st century.
Why is the fifteenth moon fourteen round
The traditional Chinese calendar is the luni-solar calendar, which takes into account both the earth's orbit around the sun and the moon's orbit around the earth. Customarily, people also call the traditional calendar "lunar calendar".
Data chart: On March 9, the night of February 16, the lunar calendar year of the rat, Beijing, before the arrival of the "supermoon", a full moon rose, reflecting the community street lights. Photo by Sun Zifa, a reporter from China News Service
"If we take the sun as a reference, the moon's circle around the earth is 29.531 days, which is what we usually call the synodic moon, that is, the moon's lunar cycle of change." Zhu Jin, honorary curator of the Beijing Planetarium, said in an interview with China News Network.
From the earth, when the projections of the sun and the moon on the ecliptic coincide, it is "Shuo", that is, the first day of the lunar calendar; when the projection of the sun and the moon on the ecliptic is exactly 180 degrees apart, it is the "hope" of the lunar calendar, that is, we often call the full moon.
However, since the orbit of the Moon around the Earth is not a perfect circle, but a slightly flat elliptical, and this orbital surface does not coincide with the orbital plane of the Earth's rotation, and the movement of the Moon is also affected by the Sun and other celestial bodies, the movement of the Moon around the Earth is not completely uniform, and it seems to be fast and slow.
Zhu Jin explained that this caused the full moon (wang) of each month not necessarily to be exactly on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, but it may be on any day from the fourteenth to the seventeenth of the lunar calendar.
Punch card name scene: The moon and these related celestial phenomena
In addition to the "full moon", there are actually many more well-known celestial phenomena related to the moon.
Infographic: Previously, the "supermoon" debuted in Beijing. The picture shows the Zhengyang Gate Arrow Tower and the "Super Moon". Photo by Mao Jianjun, reporter of China News Service
Zhu Jinxian gave an example, for example, a solar and lunar eclipse is caused by the relative position of the moon, the earth, and the sun, including a total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse, a total lunar eclipse, and a partial lunar eclipse.
He further explained that the eclipse must have occurred on the first day of the lunar calendar. Lunar eclipses are bound to occur during the full moon, so they may occur from the fourteenth to the seventeenth of the lunar calendar. Among them, the total solar eclipse is the most shocking celestial phenomenon that observers on Earth can experience for themselves.
"In addition, because the moon circles the earth once a month, planetary moons occur almost every month. Sometimes there are even rare celestial phenomena of lunar occultation planets. Zhu Jin said.
In addition, in recent years, the so-called "supermoon" has also been very popular. But Zhu Jin believes that it is not a concept of astronomy in the strict sense, but stems from "astrology". From an astronomical point of view, it is not in itself a more meaningful celestial phenomenon than a full moon.
In addition, celestial phenomena such as "double star with the moon" and "lunar occultation of the Pleiades" can often arouse the enthusiasm of astronomical enthusiasts.
Knock on the blackboard! Here comes the knowledge point about the moon
From ancient times to the present, people's exploration of the moon has never stopped. There are some knowledge points to add about the beautiful moon.
On September 24, 2018, Beijing, a round of bright moon was illuminated in the sky, and the moon was full on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo by Zhai Lu, a reporter from China News Service
There have been several different accounts of the origin of the moon. The hypotheses that roughly summarize the origin of the moon since the 18th century can be divided into three categories, namely homology, division and capture.
In this regard, Zhu Jin mentioned that the moon is a celestial body that orbits the earth under the earth's gravity. So the Moon is Earth's moon, not an asteroid, "and we now know that the Moon is not an asteroid that was previously captured by Earth." ”
"As for the origin of the Moon, the current more accepted view is that it came from the early days of the formation of the solar system when a Mars-sized planet collided with the Earth, and part of that planet and part of the Earth eventually formed the Moon." Zhu Jin said.
In fact, whether by influencing the stability of the Earth's orbit or on the ocean tides on Earth, the existence of the Moon may have played a very important role in the origin and evolution of life on Earth.
"However, the gravitational pull of the Moon does not have any direct effect on the human body." Zhu Jin said. (End)
Source: China News Network