Mt. Parnon - report

Something just occured to this rank amatuer newbie after reading Anthony's comments about not wasting 1 of the 12 precious new moon weekends in the year. It reminded me how I always wondered why people on internationally populated forums seemed to make a bigger deal out of the moonless nights. How they were so precious, and I would think to myself, "but we still have half the month pretty much moonless, whats the big deal?"

Then something hit me which I hope someone can confirm for me. I totally understood how Jupiter being in an area of the ecliptic that doesn't rise very high for far northern latuitudes meant Jupiter would not rise very high for us here in Ireland, until Jupiters orbit carries it further along the ecliptic in a few more years. I understood that those further south would see constellations and planets in that area of the ecliptic much higher in their sky than us here in Ireland. I totally understood how the moons orbit was roughly along the ecliptic which is why there are a lot of lunar/planetary occultations or close passes.

Only now has my brain put 2 and 2 together......I think

Do we here in Ireland have less of a problem with the moon because in the part of the month where the moon is at the southern part of the ecliptic it doesn't rise very high at all and doesn't ruin most of our skies whereas in the likes of Greece, even when the moon is at the southern most point of the ecliptic it is at least 15 or 20 degrees up and washes out most of their sky?

Keith i can only speak for myself from experience.

Yes, objects that are low down in the sky here in Ireland are higher up in the sky the further south you go (we are not disputing that).

Regarding your question about the moon washing out the sky MORE the further south you go (where the moon should be higher then here in Ireland)..........................

I have been to the Canary Islands many times and i personally have found in general that the light from the moon (in any phase) is about the same as when viewed from Ireland.

If ANYTHING........................(compared to Ireland) even though the moon is as bright as it appears here in Ireland.....................it has less impact on the general view of the skies the further south you go because the skies in the Canary Islands etc are soooooooooo much better and clearer then in Ireland.

Last christmas i was in Lanzarote and under a full moon i could clearly see many more stars etc above me (naked eye) then i can on a night in Ireland with a full moon.

Moonlit (full moon) nights here in Ireland for me are nights when i stay in and watch tv.

I may be TOTALLY wrong as usual..................but these are my observations from more southern locations.

Could it be a case of:

the further south you go (towards the equator) the more concentrated the moonlight is compared to it being more scattered across a wider area of the sky in more northern locations?........................

[rest of post deleted by myself]

Not sure about the last part there Paul but I see what you mean about the Canaries. There isn't as much moisture in the air to be illuminated by the moon and glow as a result washing out fainter stars. Thus, blacker sky and more stars even with a full moon.

There isn't as much moisture in the air to be illuminated by the moon and glow as a result washing out fainter stars. Thus, blacker sky and more stars even with a full moon.

Basically..............i reckon thats about the size of it.

Thus, blacker sky and more stars even with a full moon.

Yes...........................more so the further south you go compared to Ireland.

In Lanzarote..................a night with a full moon is still much darker then a full moon night here in Ireland.

Here in Ireland you can sit outside and read a book under a full moon. I know this beacause i have done it.

I cant do that in Lanzarote.

Keith,
The reason why we northwestern europeans dont care about the moon so much, or atleast don't moan about it is because we take ANY clear sky we can get as they are few and far between, if we lost all moonlit nights as well as the cloudy nights we get, we'd never get out at all.
Those who get alot or a moderate amount of clear skies during the year tend to be choosy as they can afford to be, we can't!

Paul, most of the time the moon is higher in the sky as seen from the Canaries compared to Ireland, btw the moon can never rises in the west.
sky brightness with a full moon is down to atmospheric haze, from what you're saying the skies in the canaries are less hazy, its not solely a matter of moon altitude.

I hate doing this to my Irish friends but I am very much biased towards August. It is also an excuse to have these same friends back in August.

Why don't you leave your scopes and cameras at home and just come on up and have some fun. There will be plenty more clear skies throughout the rest of the year.

Pardon??? Let a weekend without a moon go unused/unexploited? Under a best case scenario, we have twelve such precious weekends per year ...

I dont know why, but for some reason I thought you were going to be there, its a real pity you cant make it.