full moon

[Britt <risinglight@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51222

bboy_mn said:

> There is someone here on the this list that is an expert on this
> stuff, or at least compared to the rest of us, he/she is an expert.
> Hopefull he/she will jump in an settle this. 
> 
> Since I have seen the moon in the daylight hours of late afternoon 
> and at other time seen the moon appear long after it was dark, I   
> have to assume that the moon rises and falls on a varying schedule 
> just like the sun. 

I'm no expert, but I am taking an astronomy class and just had an 
exam on this.  The time of the moon's rise and set varies by the 
phase of the moon, but is constant for each phase.  So when the moon 
is full, it always rises at sunset and sets at sunrise.  (Other 
phases, such as first quarter and third quarter, either rise or set 
at noon, thus being visible all morning or afternoon.)

If anyone's curious, in the UK (okay, in London), the sun sets--and 
the moon rises-- at about 9:10 in early June (when these events took 
place, according to the books), and about 9:20 around June 23, which 
was the actual date of the full moon in June 1994.  

--Britt, a lurker who always thought her first post to this list 
would be a little more HPish!