Upcoming Turn-Days: Aug 04 (Fri), Aug 12 (Sat), Aug 16 (Wed), Aug 19 (Sat), Aug 28 (Mon), Sep 02 (Sat).
Lunar eclipses (e.g., Aug 07, 2017) occur at full moon, and solar eclipses (e.g., Aug 21, 2017) occur at new moon, but only when their alignments take place in three dimensions. Relative to Earth’s orbit, the plane of the Moon’s orbit is inclined, with a mean inclination of 5.1454°. Eclipses occur only near the nodes, where the lunar orbit intersects the solar orbital plane. Earth’s mean orbital plane is called the ecliptic (a term synonymous with “eclipse”).
There are two nodal crossings of the ecliptic per nodal period: the ascending node and the descending node. Half the nodal period is the shortest possible interval between two eclipses. Solar and lunar eclipses differ significantly: during a total solar eclipse, the Moon’s shadow forms only a narrow band on Earth, whereas Earth’s conical shadow at the Moon’s mean distance is over 9,000 km wide—nearly three lunar diameters. As a result, only a small percentage of people experience each solar eclipse, while roughly half the world can view each lunar eclipse.
Before and after lunar and solar eclipses, the True Lunar Node begins to wobble (e.g., around Jul 30, 2017), moving rapidly back and forth—retrograde, stationary, then direct. Financial markets are said to correlate with this 4–14 day cycle of retrograde–stationary–direct motion of the True Lunar Node.
Approximately every 86.655 days, a so-called “moon wobble” (lunar libration) occurs when the Sun is conjunct (e.g., Aug 16, 2017), opposite, or square (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) the Lunar Node (4 × 86.655 days = 1 nodical year, or eclipse year = 346.62 days). The Node begins wobbling about two weeks before the exact event and remains unstable until about one week after. If coupled with solar or lunar eclipses, the wobble effect can be extended.
As the Sun approaches conjunction or opposition to the Lunar Node, its motion is nearly blocked (speed at or near zero). Notably, these periods are associated with exuberant mood and frenzy, often correlating with rallies or crashes in financial markets.
There are two nodal crossings of the ecliptic per nodal period: the ascending node and the descending node. Half the nodal period is the shortest possible interval between two eclipses. Solar and lunar eclipses differ significantly: during a total solar eclipse, the Moon’s shadow forms only a narrow band on Earth, whereas Earth’s conical shadow at the Moon’s mean distance is over 9,000 km wide—nearly three lunar diameters. As a result, only a small percentage of people experience each solar eclipse, while roughly half the world can view each lunar eclipse.
Before and after lunar and solar eclipses, the True Lunar Node begins to wobble (e.g., around Jul 30, 2017), moving rapidly back and forth—retrograde, stationary, then direct. Financial markets are said to correlate with this 4–14 day cycle of retrograde–stationary–direct motion of the True Lunar Node.
Approximately every 86.655 days, a so-called “moon wobble” (lunar libration) occurs when the Sun is conjunct (e.g., Aug 16, 2017), opposite, or square (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) the Lunar Node (4 × 86.655 days = 1 nodical year, or eclipse year = 346.62 days). The Node begins wobbling about two weeks before the exact event and remains unstable until about one week after. If coupled with solar or lunar eclipses, the wobble effect can be extended.
As the Sun approaches conjunction or opposition to the Lunar Node, its motion is nearly blocked (speed at or near zero). Notably, these periods are associated with exuberant mood and frenzy, often correlating with rallies or crashes in financial markets.