Event Date: June 3rd
Time: 8:30 PM
Brief
Normally at this time of year, the Moon does not get very high when full; it reaches altitudes that a late-fall or early winter Sun does, depending on where the Moon's orbit places it relative to the ecliptic. As shown in the image, the Moon is just hours past (east) of ascending node. When this node is at this longitude of the ecliptic, not far from where the Sun is for the December solstice, it means that while transiting low, the Moon quickly starts gaining transit altitude as seen from our hemisphere. Over the next 5-6 days, as it also starts to move in the part of the sky that the Sun does during our winter months, its orbit speeds up the process of it moving close to the equator. Take a look here first, seeing it on the rise just as the Sun goes down. Since the Moon isn't quite full yet at the time of its rise 32 minutes earlier, it slowly moves higher while the Sun is still barely above the horizon.
Time: 8:30 PM
Brief
Normally at this time of year, the Moon does not get very high when full; it reaches altitudes that a late-fall or early winter Sun does, depending on where the Moon's orbit places it relative to the ecliptic. As shown in the image, the Moon is just hours past (east) of ascending node. When this node is at this longitude of the ecliptic, not far from where the Sun is for the December solstice, it means that while transiting low, the Moon quickly starts gaining transit altitude as seen from our hemisphere. Over the next 5-6 days, as it also starts to move in the part of the sky that the Sun does during our winter months, its orbit speeds up the process of it moving close to the equator. Take a look here first, seeing it on the rise just as the Sun goes down. Since the Moon isn't quite full yet at the time of its rise 32 minutes earlier, it slowly moves higher while the Sun is still barely above the horizon.
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Although I do not show the just-set Sun above, or the Moon when it just starts rising about 30 minutes earlier, it is enough hours before the crest of fullness that both are seen above the horizon for just minutes. Since the Moon rises south of east and the Sun sets at almost its furthest north of west at this time of year, it means that we see the Moon for only a small number of hours. Normally a full Moon within the few weeks of the June solstice only spends 9 1/2-10 hours above the horizon as seen from mid-northern latitudes. Once again, the exact amount of time isn't based on our latitude alone, but the ecliptic latitude of the Moon. Look again above, and this time to the right: when the Moon was about 90º west of where it is now about a week ago, it was almost 5 1/2º south of the ecliptic. If you think about it, with the movement of the Moon north and south of the equator and ecliptic, there are two times [per ecliptic cycle] that it rarely gains or loses declination at all. If you have an equatorial telescope which only tracks in right ascension, this means less "dec-tweaking"* for when the Moon moves north or south during a long time of viewing it.
*Many telescopes use this to keep the Moon centered north/south, and doesn't require much moving, yet very handy to have!
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