“Exploring the Mysteries of the Moon at the Poles: A Study of Moonrise and Moonset Phenomena” By Rohit Nair

MOON- IT’S LIFE AND STORY

It’s quite obvious that we all know what the MOON is! And those unaware of this buddy of Earth, let us see some of its interesting facts and life story.

Moon is the only natural satellite of our planet Earth, which is a tiny little rocky planet. The Moon is one of the most explored bodies in the solar system, in terms of trials for habitation and other basic purposes. Since the moon is the closest body to the Earth, for a majority of the earlier space explorations – from the first human landing on the moon to sending probes and satellites to its poles, the Moon has been the choice of interest.

Moon is also one of the most appreciated objects during stargazing since the beauty of its craters makes everyone full of happiness. Also, viewing the moon through a telescope is another level of bliss altogether. A moon is a favorable object for astrophotography too, as it is nearby, large and beautiful!

MOON RISE & MOON SET

We all have heard of Sunrise and Sunset, which are beautiful phenomena that everyone likes. If you have a telescope with a solar filter, you would fall in love with the image of the sun’s beauty and sunspots over it. Well, now let’s see about something called Moonrise and Moonset. 

Unlike sunrise, moonrise is quite different and it depends on the phases of the moon and also based on the tilt of Earth. But something even more interesting happens at the poles! The moonrise and moonset have a unique beauty at the poles since Earth is tilted at 23.5∘ and the most affected parts are our North and South Poles. 

Let’s see some detailed facts on how the Moon majestically flaunts its beauty over poles.

AT POLES…

The North and South Poles witness similar views of the moon since it just depends on the tilted part. So, let’s dive into how poles are affected by moonrise and moonset.

• SUMMER

During hot, sweaty days of summer, probably the poles won’t get affected by such conditions, we can see that the moonrise for 2 weeks above the horizon is a sign of the New Moon and hence we can barely see the crescent of the moon. Most of the time, the Sun covers the pole with its intense light, which is also a major reason why we cannot see the Moon. For the next 2 weeks, the Moon is below the horizon and hence it’s invisible to us throughout that week. 

• FALL

During the period of Fall, the Moon rises around midnight and sets around noon, which is known as the Last Quarter Phase of the Moon. At the poles, the moon will be close to the Last Quarter. Again, for the next 2 weeks, we will be blindfolded by the horizon. 

• WINTER

In winter, the best period to view the beautiful companion of Earth will be a Full Moon in the sky. Even during winter, we can see that the Sun is no anymore an obstacle to viewing the luminous Moon standing out in the sky of the poles. Again, we will be unavailable to see the Moon below the horizon for 2 weeks.

• SPRING

Finally, we dive into the spring season, also one of the best and most smooth seasons. During that period, we will be seeing the First Quarter of the Moon, illuminated in the sky. In the poles, the moon will be close to the First Quarter. For the next 2 weeks, we will never see the moon as it’s below the Horizon.

This is how we see Moon Phases at poles and the above conditions are the same for the south pole too, it’s just the tilt, which matters!