They say that there is virtue in regularity.
I say then, that this moon of our is proving itself to be virtually always, regularly late! (of late, that is!)
I have regularly been making that statement of late, by virtue of the lately regular use of the US Navy Moonrise/set chart which can be found at virtually any time by a regular virtual visit to:
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/
Now, it comes down to this:
Either the US Navy astronomers are suffering from toxic salt-water shock, or our poor benighted Mr. Moon doesn't know how to read his own chart!
Here is last night's data: Read'em and scratch the ol' noggin!
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The following information is provided for Yakima, Yakima County, Washington (longitude W120.5, latitude N46.6): by the US Navy.
USN Chart time of moon rise for May 6, 2004 ......11:28 Pacific Daylight time
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The following information is provided for RUMOR MILL NEWS Readers, NOT living in Yakima Washington (longitude W120.5, latitude N46.6) by CliffMickelson!
Actual time of moon rise for May 6, 2004 .....12:18 May 7, 2004 Pacific Daylight time!
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Yup! That's right, folks! The moon didn't rise here on May 6! It rose on May 7 @ 12:18 in the AM!
THERE WAS NO MOON RISE ON MAY 6, 2004!
The total time of tardiness of Terra's errant lunar friend?
50 minuets! That's an increase of 7 min. over last night!
(for last nights info see my post)
http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=48393
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Now, here is another interesting little tidbit. As we all know, the waning moon rises after the summer equinox a bit farther to the East each succeeding night, until finally the waning crescent moon is only a few dozen degrees off of magnetic north by the early morning hours.
Now, I can't say for certain, but this pattern should hold true regardless of the time of year. Perhaps not, but since I can't find any information to the contrary, but we will soon find out next month, following June 21.
I spend hundreds of hours outside at night, both winter and summer. Since February, the waning moon has been rising farther in the WEST each consecutive night, instead of farther to the EAST!
Last night the moon rose at this latitude at approx. 120 degrees east south east of magnetic north.
The night before, (May 4, 2004) was the first night of the waning moon. On that night the moon rose 43 min. late (according to the Navy chart) and it rose at approx. 115 degrees east, southeast of magnetic north.
That's a westward drift of 5 degrees to the West in the course of 24 hours. This is in keeping with the recent behavior over the last three months. The Westward drift, SHOULD slow down as the moon increasingly wanes. That would be the pattern it has exhibited since February. The question is: Why is it moving each consecutive night farther west at all?
Stay tuned for more lunacy this evening!
-CliffMickelson
PS:
I have just received an email from a friend in North Carolina who writes to say that last night they were stunned by the apparition of : (and I quote)
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Hi Cliff..
Tonight, my ex called me from Ohio to say there was a really bright star overhead. Since he never looks up, plus mocks me for my beliefs, I figured it must be worth a look. I went outside (in Raleigh, NC) -- and did not know where to look first. I was gawking with my jaw dropped.
I. thought. I. Was. in. a. different. Galaxy . . . one with TWIN stars.
Because there are 1,2,3,4,5 DOUBLE 'STARS 'up there, in various parts of the sky tonight. That's a big, bright, twinkler-type 'star,' with a pinpoint of another tiny 'star' right next to it, nearly converging.
My children saw the same thing, so I know it's not my glasses...
-SM
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There you have it, boys and girls! Any one else see anything similar? Drop me an email. I'm running fashionably late in getting out the replies, but hope to catch up with all of you before the asteroid does!
CliffMickelson
