Stonehenge is one of the famous monuments that has captured people’s imagination. The monument’s alignment with the sun at solstices is clear as day, although the function of the monument remains uncertain. But researchers will spend the next few months looking for a different kind of alignment, where some of the stones may be aligned with the moon’s pause.
Things don’t stay still in the sky. Because the planet is tilted relative to its orbit, the position of the Sun and its rising and setting moves throughout the year. Stonehenge is aligned so that the light of the sunrise on the summer solstice and the last rays of the sunset on the winter solstice pass through the middle.
But outside the stone circle there are so-called station stones, their function is unknown. It seems to be related not to the sun, but to the moon. As with the Sun’s movements, the position of the Moon’s rising and setting changes due to the tilt of the Moon’s orbit relative to the Earth. But it’s not an annual thing. The cycle takes 18.6 years to complete.
During its peak cycle, the Moon oscillates from 28.725°N to 28.725°S in one month. This period is known as the lunistice, and the next will last until January 2025. So researchers will visit Stonehenge several times over the coming months, all the way through the lunistice, to understand the possible correspondence between the monument and our natural satellite.
“I think the moon in general was very important to them.” Heather SieberStonehenge’s chief estate curator told IFLScience. “And you know that when the moon was full, they probably had extra light and were able to do things that they couldn’t do the rest of the time.”
“Regarding the lunar stop, they think it may have significance here due to the presence of four outlying stones known as the ‘station stones.’ Only two of them remain and form a rectangle, and there are some ideas that it may have something to do with the placement outside the circle.
In the case of a simple lunation, the Moon’s declination is between 18.134 degrees (north or south). The next will happen in 2034.
As researchers continue to investigate this fascinating alignment, Stonehenge invites people to join in the fun. As usual, visitors will be allowed into the circle to view the solstice (which this year is the oldest since 1796), but the next day it will be all about the solstice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZHaqSf8VxM
The lunar moonrise event is available online only, so you can watch Live broadcast From the comfort of your home, you and the researchers wonder if this great monument is also aligned with the moon.