New Moon, and new book

Here is Sunday’s sky before dawn.

See the end note about enlarging illustrations.

And half a day later, after sunset.

Between these times, the Moon has passed by the Sun – a little south of it, so that there is no eclipse, as there was when the Moon very slightly obstructed the Sun on January 21.

You can trace in both pictures, as you cannot in reality, the super-slender crescent as it departs from the morning company of planets, visits Mercury near the Sun, and races after Venus into the evening sky.  We show where Uranus and Neptune are, even if you can’t see them.

A time when the Moon is New and thoroughly out of sight may seem a perverse time at which to blow the trumpet for a book about the Moon.  Not so.  Robert Garfinkle’s two-volume work could be the beginning of a new lunation in selenology.  (Lunation: a cycle of the Moon, such as lunation 1202 which begins with the present New Moon.  Selênê: Greek for the Moon.)

Bob Garfinkle, whom I met in California a few years ago, has put massive research into compiling his work, which is titled Luna Cognita and is published by Springer, the distinguished scientific publishing house.  Two things I especially like about the book are its title, which means “The Known Moon” but alludes to Luna Incognita, the part of the far side that is obliquely brought into view by the Moon’s subtle libration or rocking; and the cover.

A pleasant sepia look, like a historical document.  And the “O” of “Cognita” is sliding out of sight behind the Moon’s limb like Venus during an occultation.

Incidentally, I thought that Springer used to be Springer Verlag when it was a European company, and that its name was the German word for a “knight,” as in chess.  But apparently Springer was a person, and the American company is a separate foundation by his great-grandson.  Still, you can see a sprightly knight as the company’s logo.

You can find out more about Luna Cognita on Amazon or at Springer’s website, https://www.springer.com/gb

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ILLUSTRATIONS in these posts are made with precision but have to be inserted in another format.  You may be able to enlarge them on your monitor.  One way: right-click, and choose “View image”, then enlarge.  Or choose “Copy image”, then put it on your desktop, then open it.  On an iPad or phone, use the finger gesture that enlarges (spreading with two fingers, or tapping and dragging with three fingers).  Other methods have been suggested, such as dragging the image to the desktop and opening it in other ways.

Sometimes I make improvements or corrections to a post after positing it.  If you click on the title, rather than on ‘Read more’, I think you are sure to see the latest version.

This weblog maintains its right to be about astronomy or anything under the sun.