2005 December 15
Autumn Moon Encore
Image Credit & Copyright: Russell Doescher (Texas State University)
Explanation: Near its northernmost declination, tonight's Full Moon will be a special one, arcing high in northern hemisphere skies. But a Full Moon won't occur on this calendar date for another 19 years, a period known as the lunar Metonic cycle. September 15th's lunar phase and date were notable too, marking the return of a gibbous Moon rising over the High Sierra mountains. That scene was captured in Ansel Adams' famous photograph Autumn Moon from Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park. Earlier this year, Texas State University physicists Donald Olson, Russell Doescher and students were able to pinpoint the location and (formerly uncertain) date the original Ansel Adams photo was taken - September 15, 1948. Accordingly, their astronomical detective work predicted that the lunar alignment and waxing gibbous phase would be repeated on Thursday, September 15, 2005, exactly three 19-year Metonic cycles later. On that day, about 300 photographers gathered at Glacier Point to record Ansel Adams' Autumn Moon encore.
Source:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
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More about this special full moon ...
http://users.aol.com/JEBrown800/PressRe ... 20905.html
Highest Full Moons in 18 Years
Press Release
Date: December 9, 2005
Has the moon seemed to be all over the sky lately? It's not your imagination. Orbital precession, a slight periodic wobble in the Moon's orbit, sometimes brings the Moon to its extreme declinations (Earth latitudes) of 28.72 degrees north and south.
Full moons near the winter solstice are always striking, but this month's moon is special. The full moons of December 2005 and December 2006 will be the lowest in 18 years for Southern Hemisphere observers. For viewers in the Northern Hemisphere, north of the tropics, these full moons will be the highest until 2024, with the full moon appearing directly overhead as far north as The Bahamas, Iran, Nepal, Delhi, and the southern ends of Morocco, Kuwait, and Tibet. In the US, the moon will be overhead in Florida (Cape Kennedy) and southern Texas, and not quite as far north as the Louisiana Delta. Observers below 60 south will see a very low full moon or none at all. At all locations, the moon will rise and set near its extreme northeast and northwest azimuths (unusually far NE/NW on the horizon); look for this at sunrise and sunset.
(For technical reasons, full moons do not occur at declinations more extreme than 28.40 degrees.)
To enjoy this rare phenomenon, go outside around local midnight the night of December 15-16, and notice how long (or short!) the shadows are / your shadow is.
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About the author:
J. E. Brown is an amateur astronomer living in Los Alamos, New Mexico USA.
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For us (I live in Northern California) it was indeed a joyously beautiful glowing full "sunrise" moon suspended in our northwestern sky this morning. This was a special moon, and it gave us great joy as we began our morning. I hope everyone gets a chance to spy this special moon throughout all our various locations on this home we call earth.
and you must buy seed 100 lbs at a time! 
