Dates for the Callanish moon skim

Callanish (Calanais)
Isle of Lewis, Scotland
- pages by
Gerald Ponting

Table of Dates and Times to see
the Moon Skim from Callanish
in 2006 and 2007

Date
2006/07

Altitude of moon at due
south (degrees)

Time moon is at due south
(rise 1.5+ hours earlier; set 1+ hour later; see below)

%age illumination of moon disc (100% = full)

Can you see a similar skim on successive days ?

9 July 06
(setting early morning 10th)

2.66°

2326 GMT

98%

altitude 3.2° on 8th;
4.0° on 10th

5 August 06

2.60°

2108 GMT

83%

altitude 4.0° on 4th;
2.9° on 6th

2 September 06

2.49°

1953 GMT

69%

altitude 2.8° on 1st;
3.8° on 3rd

29 September 06
(lowest moon)

2.45°

1742 GMT

43%

altitude 3.4° on 28th;
3.1° on 30th

2 June 07

3.00°

0113 GMT

99%

altitude 4.2° on 1st;
3.2° on 3rd

30 June 07
(rising late on 29th)

3.00°

0052 GMT

99%

altitude 3.2° on 29th;
4.3° on July 1st

Before consulting this table, please read my general page on the ‘Southern Moon Skim’
Also, visit my Callanish moonrise blog - three pages about the events of 11th -12th June 2006

This is a selective table* of dates and times for viewing the southern moon at Callanish in July, August and September 2006.

On 26 October 2006, the low moon will set as a thin crescent in the late afternoon; in November and December, the moon reaches its lowest positions while new; so I have excluded these from my table.

I have included two dates in June 2007. The moon will by then be moving away from its lowest position, but the full moon setting among the circle stones on these dates will still be spectacular if the weather is clear - always a major problem when planning sky-watching in northern Scotland!

The times given in the table are for the moon at due south. Add one hour for BST.

When at it lowest, the moon rises from the hills of the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ approximately 1.5 hours before this; and appears among the stones of the circle about one hour after the time given. (In both cases, give or take ten minutes.)

Clearly, at higher altitudes, the skim is longer and the moon rises earlier and sets later.

Web-site created by Gerald Ponting using Serif WebPlus 9.

Latest revision of this page :
July 2006.

All material copyright - see copyright notice

Viewing from the north end of the Callanish avenue (the presumed prehistoric viewing position), the moon sets between the stones of the circle only if the altitude is not more than about 3.5 degrees.

Below 4.5 degrees, the moon passes behind the tallest stone and sets into the west row. Above 4.5 degrees, the moon does not ‘touch’ the stones. Once the moon is regularly this high, it will not skim the stones again till the next ‘major standstill’ in 2025.

Victor Reijs has a web-cam at Callanish showing some of these events - click on the ‘Archive’ section on the right of his page for past images.

Visit my Callanish moonrise blog - three pages about the events of 11th -12th June 2006

* Please note - the information in the table is provided in good faith and to the best of my knowledge for the convenience of potential Callanish moonwatchers, but the author takes no responsibility for any decisions taken by visitors to this site as the result of using this information.