Latest news with #sky
CNET
09-06-2025
- Science
- CNET
Get Outside and Spot June's Strawberry Moon This Week
Not all full moons are created equal, and a great example of this is June's full moon, which you can check out this week. Also known as the strawberry moon, June's full moon will be one of the more interesting full moons of the year. It's a mini-moon, which means the moon is as far away from the Earth as its orbit will allow. It's also part of a major lunar standstill, which will give the moon a unique trajectory across the sky that only occurs every 18.6 years. Your best chance to see the strawberry moon will be early on June 11, with the fullest possible moon not visible until 3:46 a.m. according to The Farmer's Almanac. It'll be only slightly less full on both June 10 and June 12. Since it is a mini-moon, it'll also appear to be smaller and dimmer than a normal full moon. Anyone who caught one of four supermoons in 2024 will be able to spot the stark contrast between a supermoon and a mini-moon. During a supermoon, the moon is as close to the Earth as its orbit allows, a phenomenon known as perigee. For a mini-moon, the moon is as far away from Earth as it can get, a phenomenon called apogee. It's a little less exciting than a supermoon, but for context, it's neat to know how dim and small the moon can get compared to how big and bright it can get during a supermoon. The major lunar standstill The strawberry moon is part of what's called a major lunar standstill. This occurs once every 18.6 years when the moon's orbit aligns just right with the Earth's tilt. As most astronomers can tell you, the moon rises and sets from different points of the horizon based on the time of year, the Earth's tilt, and the moon's orbit. In short, the path the moon is taking through the sky is as long as it's going to get. This phenomenon isn't specific to June 2025. In fact, people will be able to view this phenomenon for most of the year. However, once it's gone, it'll be 18.6 years before it shows up again. Another interesting tidbit about major lunar standstills is that the moon will be rising and setting on parts of the horizon where the sun will never go. This was noted by researchers at English Heritage, who are currently studying the notion that Stonehenge lines up with this once-in-a-generation event.
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Otago Daily Times
Congestion-busting contenders
Doppelmayr NZ's Garreth Hayman. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER Two fully electric aerial transportation system providers pitched themselves as solutions to Queenstown's chronic traffic congestion problems at this week's Electrify Queenstown event. They're Queenstown Cable Car, which could ferry up to 3000 passengers an hour, in both directions, between the CBD and the airport via Queenstown Hill and Frankton. The other's Whoosh's 'Uber in the sky' which is about to be demo-ed at Remarkables Park. Doppelmayr NZ CEO Garreth Hayman, who's working with local tech entrepreneur Rod Drury and former Infrastructure Commission chief executive Ross Copland, says "the big difference is we are a mass transit solution versus they are an equivalent of an Uber, if you like, in terms of calling up a taxi". "They will probably feed into the gondola system, it would make sense for them to do that, and it's just like the [public] bus [network] is feeding into the system well." However, Whoosh chief executive Dr Chris Allington tells Scene their system has many advantages over a gondola system. It could disperse its users across a greater number of smaller stations, avoiding likely queues at peak times with the gondola system's fewer, larger stations, he says. Its modular system allowed it to be expanded as demand required. "You're no longer stuck with straight lines and a limited number of stops."
