Question about stellarium and the moon.

Originally posted by CLPrime
reply to post by CLPrime

 

At 10:58, the bottom of the moon was sitting on the horizon. This is exactly where Stellarium says it should be.
About 4 minutes ago, Stellarium said the moon should be 2 degrees above the horizon. That's where the moon was.

Tonight, in my location, the moon is where it should be.
Can you explain the discrepancy?

Nope.
What are the odds that the only person on this entire web site who actually understands what I'm talking about is also the worlds greatest moon anomaly debunker?
I think I'll start searching for crystal skulls or some other high strangeness that actually has a future and offers unlimited growth potential.

reply to post by Trublbrwing


That might certainly prove more profitable for you.
It was interesting, actually, 'cause I was waiting for the moon to rise at 10:48, when Stellarium said it was going to... and 10:48 came and went with no moon. So, for a few minutes, I was actually thinking you might be onto something. But, then, the moon appeared from behind some clouds, and, it turns out, was exactly where Stellarium said it would be. That's about the closest I've ever come to believing something "the moon isn't where it should be!"-related.

Originally posted by Trublbrwing

Originally posted by CLPrime
reply to post by CLPrime

 

At 10:58, the bottom of the moon was sitting on the horizon. This is exactly where Stellarium says it should be.
About 4 minutes ago, Stellarium said the moon should be 2 degrees above the horizon. That's where the moon was.

Tonight, in my location, the moon is where it should be.
Can you explain the discrepancy?

Nope.
What are the odds that the only person on this entire web site who actually understands what I'm talking about is also the worlds greatest moon anomaly debunker?
I think I'll start searching for crystal skulls or some other high strangeness that actually has a future and offers unlimited growth potential.

Out of curiosity I looked at Stellarium and then went outside. Moon's right where it supposed to be on the NC coast. Let me know how the skulls work out for you.

Originally posted by Pauligirl

Originally posted by Trublbrwing

Originally posted by CLPrime
reply to post by CLPrime

 

At 10:58, the bottom of the moon was sitting on the horizon. This is exactly where Stellarium says it should be.
About 4 minutes ago, Stellarium said the moon should be 2 degrees above the horizon. That's where the moon was.

Tonight, in my location, the moon is where it should be.
Can you explain the discrepancy?

Nope.
What are the odds that the only person on this entire web site who actually understands what I'm talking about is also the worlds greatest moon anomaly debunker?
I think I'll start searching for crystal skulls or some other high strangeness that actually has a future and offers unlimited growth potential.

Out of curiosity I looked at Stellarium and then went outside. Moon's right where it supposed to be on the NC coast. Let me know how the skulls work out for you.

Will do.

Originally posted by Trublbrwing

Originally posted by Ahmose
reply to post by Trublbrwing

 

so where is the question?

Install stellarium and find out.
Magick!

It was a semi rhetorical question since I already knew the answer.
You have to read the entire thread to see the big picture.

Yep, gotcha.

Well, the moon is where it should be here (usa/east coast), and both of my astro programs (sky chart and stellarium) show it to be precisely where it is when i look outside.
I'm also outside most nights (working at observatory), and often observing the moon,
and I've not noticed it to be "off".

I know I am going to be sorry for posting this, but I was startled by this thread.

It could not possibly be a physical phenomenon, but MAYBE it has something to do with perception.

I am well versed in observing nature, including the skies. (I used to be a very active mountaineer and have beeninvolved in a few rescue operations, which you don't get to do if you're a bumpkin who knows nothing about nature, or if you do, you don't last long.) I am usually able to tell the time of day with a 5 - 10 minutes of margin by simply looking at the sky.

Still, yesterday, July 19, I was startled by the position of the Moon. It was a first. Something like that never ever happened to me before in my life. But I was so startled by its position that I went out and had a good look at it, then returned inside and checked Stellarium (which I had been using from before it even came out "publicly").

All appeared to be in order. But I could have sworn that the Moon was in the wrong place compared to the previous evening, when I observed it, as I do every day when I am at home, from the exact same spot in my studio. (Yes, of course I know its position progresses compared to each previous day, naturally; that was taken into account.)

Like I said, it was the first time in my entire life that anything about the position of celestial bodies took me by surprise. And I cannot account for the apparent "anomaly", of course not. I only know it could not have been something physical, but the fact that this happened to you on the same and only evening that I observed an "anomalous"position struck me as very odd, so I just had to say something.

Did something affect our perception and visual memory?
I have no idea what or how, but it's the only explanation I could think of.

Originally posted by AdAstra

I know I am going to be sorry for posting this, but I was startled by this thread.

Still, yesterday, July 19, I was startled by the position of the Moon. It was a first. Something like that never ever happened to me before in my life. But I was so startled by its position that I went out and had a good look at it, then returned inside and checked Stellarium (which I had been using from before it even came out "publicly").

All appeared to be in order. But I could have sworn that the Moon was in the wrong place compared to the previous evening, when I observed it, as I do every day when I am at home, from the exact same spot in my studio. (Yes, of course I know its position progresses compared to each previous day, naturally; that was taken into account.)

Last night, I actually came on here looking for a current moon thread, because did seem like it was such a jump in position, towards north. Because of its position in the sky, it seems like it's been full for almost a couple of weeks now. 4 days ago was the full moon.

Right now the moon is coming up directly east of me, and still appearing as a full moon, but stellarium says it should still be a little bit southerly. So my stellarium isn't totally accurate, or east isn't as east as it used to be.

reply to post by snowspirit




Thank you so much for posting this.
Has this ever happened to you before?
I know I am so puzzled only because it never ever happened to me. I feel ashamed to be even thinking about such an occurrence, if you know what I mean. It's too ridiculous. But I have to.

reply to post by AdAstra


About 4 years ago, when I had no fence around the yard, I had to take the dogs out on the leash to do their outdoor business, and I always used to star watch. I live in a very unpolluted area, and can see so much up in the sky on a clear night.

One night I couldn't find the moon. I thought "OK, it's just late coming up", but for the next couple of weeks, it didn't even come up before midnight, maybe even later. I couldn't see it in the morning either. My latitude line is at 52.6, so I'm quite north, so the moon must have been showing up quite a ways south of me. It bugged me so much, I went for a walk every night looking for it

I moved about an hour east from there, and now where I am, the land is more open, and I can see its transition from moonrise to moonset, so I often see it in the mornings.

Being this far north, with the sun staying up for so long, the moon comes up orange almost every night, the sunset reflects over on the moon. When it's cloudy, it's like getting a sunset both east and west at the same time. Very cool.

The other night was a noticeable move to the north, but it was weird seeing it directly east, and stellarium showing it as still somewhat south. I have put a compass on my shopping list now, when we bought this house 3 years ago, my living room window faced true east on the compass. Something else to double check now......

reply to post by AdAstra


Look, there is a pattern, of people such as yourself, who see these changes and it shocks them for a moment. If you then go to Stellarium to check your sanity it's over because it tells you it's normal, at this point you feel foolish and of course you tell no one. I have spoken to literally hundreds of people who have noticed these changes, they almost never initiate the conversation but once they feel safe talking to me it comes out.
I have absolutely no idea why this isn't all over the news, perhaps everyone is so afraid of being ridiculed that they are just keeping it to themselves, if this little microcosm is any indication of the reaction they can expect it is a valid concern.
Something IS wrong, there is absolutely no doubt about that. The increasing number of people who are noticing and posting the exact same concerns is proof of that.

Originally posted by Trublbrwing

I didn't say it was "over" after I checked Stellarium. Not at all. That's why I am here.
I am only trying to figure out what could have caused such an anomaly in perception.

And I did tell someone. I came here and told it.
I did ask one or two buddies who I know are reliable people (ex-climbers) whether they had noticed anything unusual about the Moon and the skies lately, but they hadn't.

I absolutely agree that something seems to have been going on (or maybe it still is), because this never happened to me before, and now it happened on the one day you mentioned here.

But I don't see how could it have been something physical, so I am thinking something affected outr perception.
Whatever it was, it is highly interesting and relevant to all of us.
And I agree, this absolutely SHOULD be top news..... in a different world. :-)
Not in this one.

So, anything new, OP...?
What are all those people going to do about their observations?
Or have they forgotten about it already?
(Not being sarcastic, believe it or not.)

Originally posted by AdAstra
So, anything new, OP...?
What are all those people going to do about their observations?
Or have they forgotten about it already?
(Not being sarcastic, believe it or not.)

I have to get a new compass now, I cannot find the one we used when we bought the house. On the site survey, the house is also as squared as it was when we checked with the compass. Living room, directly east.

Moon, directly east last time I saw it. But not on Stellarium. It showed that it should have been a little bit south.

I haven't even seen the moon for days now, it's been so stormy and cloudy. Which is nice after the hot spell we had.
If I have a compass by the time the moon shows itself next, I'll be checking it out.
Magnetic north has been wandering a bit, I don't know if it's enough to show up on a compass.

Originally posted by snowspirit
Moon, directly east last time I saw it. But not on Stellarium. It showed that it should have been a little bit south.

That's interesting.
Listen, how about contacting the French guy who is the author of Stellarium?
Or discuss it in the Stellarium forum?

I would do it myself if I had noticed any discrepancies. But, like you, I haven't even seen the Moon this past week or so, because of heavy clouds and storms.

Stellarium can sometimes have a glitch just like any program. I have used it probably a thousand times and have noticed that sometimes the moon seems to get stuck in the last 'figuring' of a date or time I did. I just learned to make sure before I mark the moons position I was sure to renew all the settings to the original date and time and then make sure the moon did not 'glitch'.

This could be what happened.

In fact this happened to me more then once...I had to go back and redo many positions I gave for the cosmos and eventually just learned to be very observant and to make sure the moon did 'figure' when I typed in a new date or time.

It was not only the position of the moon...but I first noticed there was a issue with it getting 'stuck' from the moon phase being displayed wrong. Like I would figure the positions for one date....then go to a date a few days later then the first one...and I noticed the moon did not figure for the new date and was in the same place and same phase as my last positions.

reply to post by LeoVirgo


Thank you very much.
I still think it would be good to discuss it on the Stellarium forum, but of course it is perfectly within the realm of possibility that it might have been a glitch. Stellarium is great, but no man-made application is ever perfect. :-)

In my case, if you've read through the thread, it was a discrepancy in perception/memory (didn't seem to notice anything particularly "wrong" with Stellarium). That's why I am so interested in hearing about all those other people that the OP talked about. It was the first time ever anything like that happened to me, and it happened on the one date that the OP mentioned. Weird!

So I am thinking something must have influenced our perception.
Because if it had been physical, surely the repercussions of such a move would have been too obvious for anyone alive to ignore.