Moon as a Compass

[MoonMan]

The Moon, by its Face one knows its Direction

The Moon rises in the East & sets in the West,
 moving through North if one be south of the Tropic of Capricorn, seeming to roll clockwise;
 & moving through South if one be north of the Tropic of Cancer, seeming to roll anticlockwise.

"Let the Part nearest the Horizon have the same Azimuth as the Horizon"_ Cassini
 

[Callum]

Is the Moon’s rising east subject to the same variation of amplitude as the Sun i.e. 23.5° north or south?

[MoonMan]

Moon's Inclination to Ecliptic is 5.14 degrees,so, at Minor Standstill,18.3 degrees;at Major Standstill, 28.57, over a period of 18.63 years. last Major was June 2005, next Minor is October 2015.
Sine Amplitude equals cosine Azimuth equals sine Declination secant Latitude

[captain paranoia]

> The Moon rises in the East & sets in the West,
> moving through North if one be south of the Tropic of Capricorn, seeming to roll clockwise;
> & moving through South if one be north of the Tropic of Cancer, seeming to roll anticlockwise.

I guess that means that, if you're in the tropics (between Capricorn and Cancer), the moon doesn't roll either way?

> moving through North

I assume that's the Moon 'moving through North', although I'm not entirely sure what this phrase means.

Given the somewhat 'Pirate Talk'* nature of this expression, I take it it has a nautical origin...? 

* "Yaaarr, me hearties, if ye be south of the tropic of Capricorn, beware of the fearsome, ship-eating snaggerwrat..."

[MoonMan]

 In the Tropics: the Moon, by Declination, can be either North or South of the Observer's Latitude; if it be North, East is on the Observer's Right; if it be South, East is one the Observer's Left.
Moving through North means it will move through the sky that is North of the Observer, whose back will be towards the near Pole, except in the Tropics,where both options are possible during any given month. of course, if one's Latitude is the same as the Moon's Declination,on that day, the Moon {or the Sun,for that matter} will seem to travel directly from east to West, with no shadows cast when overhead. The Eastern part will remain in the east until the Western part take over. see p 78 in the Book: the Moon is NE

[MoonMan]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csYhGc3B8w" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csYhGc3B8w</a>  Moon as Compass

[Pete McK]

Moonman, this sounds really interesting but I have not quite grasped it yet. How do you translate the bearing you see on the moon to your bearing on the earth please, because the moon moves across the night sky I would not know which way I was facing.

[MoonMan]

Moonman, this sounds really interesting but I have not quite grasped it yet. How do you translate the bearing you see on the moon to your bearing on the earth please, because the moon moves across the night sky I would not know which way I was facing.

 

The Moon, by its Face one knows its Direction



The Moon rises in the East & sets in the West,
 moving through North if one be south of the Tropic of Capricorn, seeming to roll
clockwise;
 & moving through South if one be north of the Tropic of Cancer, seeming to roll anticlockwise.

"Let the Part nearest the Horizon have the same Azimuth as the Horizon"_ Cassini
 

Now, you have a whole month to observe coming up. That should see you right.

[MoonMan]

 Moon rise was 20:31; Sunset was 20:57... The moon shown is in the NNE. This is the Moon appearing over a hill, between 21:14 & 21: 22, but it is an hour after Moon Rise. It rose at N 55 E.