Lunar standstill

Common card · No. 353158

A lunar standstill or lunistice (reminiscent of solstice) is the relative position of the Moon furthest north or furthest south from the celestial equator (measured as an angle expressed in degrees called declination of a celestial coordinate system, analogous to latitude). The Moon comes to an apparent so-called standstill as it changes at that point direction of moving between northern and southern positions in the course of a month (specifically a tropical month of about 27.3 days). The degree of lunar standstills changes over the course of 18.6 years, between positions of about 18.134° (north or south) and 28.725° (north or south), due to lunar precession. These extremes are called the minor and major lunar standstills. The last minor lunar standstill was in October 2015, and the next one will be in 2034. The previous major lunar standstill was in 2006 and the most recent in December 2024. At this time the northern lunistice occurs when the Moon is seen in the direction of Taurus,...

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