A rare astronomical event could solve the mystery!

Every 18–19 years, an amazing phenomenon occurs in our sky. Exactly every 18.6 years. English speakers talk about “big lunar stop”. Because at this moment the Moon seems to stop moving. Today, astronomers have an explanation. This phenomenon occurs when our satellite reaches its maximum declination. Understand that it is then at its farthest position from the earth’s equator. This occurs in a regular cycle, controlled by the gravitational forces of the Earth, Sun and other celestial bodies.

This is a rather unique case in the scientific career of the phenomenon “big lunar stop” which British researchers want to use to study the connection that may exist between Stonehenge and our Moon. After all, scientists believe that the first stage of construction of the mysterious monument could coincide with “Big Moon Blackout”. And this may explain why some of the stones at Stonehenge coincide with the extreme positions of the Moon.

The moon will soon be in extreme positions

You should know that “big lunar stop” also corresponds to the moment when our natural satellite reaches its northernmost and southernmost positions, the furthest apart in our sky. The Moon then rises and sets in places on the horizon that the Sun never reaches. Perhaps this mattered to our distant ancestors. They may have seen this as a period when the lunar deity took precedence over the solar deity. And accordingly they organized religious, spiritual or social holidays.

“Currently, unlike what is happening with the Sun, keeping track of the extremes of the Moon is not easy. This requires specific measures, timing and special weather conditions. We want to understand a little bit what it was like to witness these extreme moonrises and moonsets and see their visual effect on the rocks.explains Amanda Chadburn, a visiting researcher from Bournemouth University, in a press release from the University of Leicester. We’ll document it all with images in hopes of unraveling the complex relationship between the landscape, the stones of Stonehenge, and the Moon during the “great lunar blackout.”

Do the Stonehenge stones match the Moon?

Archaeoastronomers will begin their work in the spring of 2024 and will study “big lunar stop” until mid-2025. They will be especially interested in the southeastern part of Stonehenge. In fact, between 3000 and 2500 BC, the cremated remains of the population were buried there. Around the stone circle – long before its existence – and in “Aubrey Holes”, 56 pits that may have originally contained wooden or stone pillars. However, this direction is also the direction of the Moon’s southernmost position.

Another point that attracted the attention of researchers is the major axis of a rectangle formed by four “Station Stones”. It is also oriented towards the southernmost moonrise. Was this intentional? And if so, what was the purpose? The answers that archaeoastronomers provide to these questions in the coming months will be all the more important as more “Station Stones” Much later they were used in the construction of the huge stone circle of Stonehenge. Enough to potentially establish a strong connection between the lunar cycles and the architecture of the site.

Please note that the authority responsible for the management of Historic England English Heritagewill broadcast live the moonrise at the very south of Stonehenge.