旧暦で１２月１５日

　後４時間ほど経過すると、太陰太陽暦(旧暦)で１２月１５日ですから、今宵はほぼ十五夜です。空に薄い雲がかかっているのでしょう。周囲がほんの少し白くなってます。

　現在、この月面から地球を見ると夜のため殆ど何も見えないでしょうが、もしかすると、月明かりでかすかに見えるかもしれません。

　月の右上に見える明るい星は木星で「双子座」の中に入ってます。これから半年ほどは毎晩見ても「双子座」の近くにあるでしょう。

Dear my Facebook friends who are interesting in celestial body

　In about four hours, it will be December 15th on the lunisolar calendar (old calendar), Therefore it means tonight is almost the fifteenth night of the full moon. We earthling can see thin clouds in the sky, so that the edges are slightly white.

Currently, if we look at Earth from the surface of the moon, we can see almost nothing because it's night, but if possible, we may be able to see it faintly by the moonlight.

The bright star visible to the upper right of the moon is Jupiter, which is in the constellation Gemini. For the next six months or so, it will be near Gemini even if we look every night, I guess.

深夜に起きて、下弦の月を撮影

　１０時頃に一度寝てから、深夜１２時半頃、東の空に浮かぶ下弦の月が撮れました。３８万kmと余りにも遠方でピントを合わせるのが難しく、その上、薄い雲もかかっていましたが、どうにか撮れました。昨晩撮った写真よりほんの少し小さくなってます。拡大してご覧ください。

　これが月齢２２の月です。今日は太陰太陽暦【旧暦】で１１月２２日で昔の「いい夫婦の日」です。

Dear my Facebook friends as an earthlings

　I went to sleep around 10 o'clock last night, and then around twelve-thirty I took a photo of the waning moon floating in the eastern dark sky. As you know, it was difficult to focus because it was so far away, 380,000 km, and there were thin clouds covering it, but I could get the photo. It's a little smaller than the photo I took last night. Please enlarge the photo and look.

　This is the moon at 22 days old. Therefore today is November 22nd in the lunar calendar (old calendar), which was known as Happy Couple's Day in the past.

月齢２０

　今宵の東の空に昇った下弦の月です。今日は太陰太陽暦【旧暦】で１１月２０日なので月齢２０です。大きさを昨晩の下弦の月と比較してみてください。日に日に１２°程ずつ小さくなっていきます。今宵の月が西の空に沈む時間は明朝１月９日の午前９時５８分予定です。

Dear my earthlings

　This is the waning moon that rose in the eastern sky tonight in Japan. Today is November 20th in the lunisolar calendar (old calendar), so the moon is 20 days old. Please compare its size to last night's waning moon. It is getting smaller by about 12 degrees each night. Tonight's moon will be set in the western sky at 9:58 am tomorrow morning, January 9th Japan time.

今宵は下弦の月

　現在、東の空に出てる下弦の月です。「えぇっ！弦が上ではありませんか。」と言いたくなりますが、この月が西に沈むとき、地球の自転により弦が下になります。上弦の月は西に沈むとき弦が上になります。要するに、月が西に沈むとき弦が上か下かです。

　それにしても月面の山やクレーターの凸凹のよく分かりますね。画像を拡大すると一層際立ちます。

　Currently, the waning moon is in the eastern sky in Japan. You might be asked, "What! Isn't the top string?", but when this moon sets in the west by the rotation of earth, the string will be the bottom. A waxing moon is at the top of string when it sets in the west. To sum up, when the moon sets in the west, it is at the top or bottom of its string.

　Even so, you can clearly see the unevenness of the mountains and craters on the moon's surface. This becomes even more clear when you enlarge the photo.

上弦の月は日に日に大きくなり、下弦の月は日に日に小さくなる

　写真をクリックし、拡大してご覧ください。この写真は午後７時４０分ころ撮りました。今宵の月齢は９.８です。反時計回りに公転してるため、月は一日に１２°ほど東へ移動します。今は上弦の月なので昨晩より大きくなってます。昨晩の写真と比較してください。

　この月面の上の方では山の麓は見えないのに、頂上付近が太陽光に当たって見えてます。このため、月も球体であることが分かります。太陽光が当たってる月面は時間と共に少しずつ広くなり、明晩の月齢は１０．８になります。不思議なことですが、月は外国の人と同時に一緒に同じ月を見ることができます。

Dear earthlings

　Click on the photo to enlarge it. This photo was taken by me around 7:40pm, Japan time. Tonight's moon age is 9.8. The moon moves as revolution about 12° east each day. currently it is a waxing moon, so it became larger than last night. Please compare it to last night's photo in this page.

　Although the base of the mountain is invisible, the sunlight hits the peaks, so it is making them visible. This shows that the moon is also spherical. It grows little by little over time without rest, so that tomorrow night's moon age will be 10.8. It's strange, but we earthlings can actually see the same moon at the same time with someone in another country.

今宵は月齢７．８

　今宵の上弦の月です。一昨日の月と比較してください。太陽光が当たってる月面が更に広がり、地球照はもう見えません。国立天文台発表による今宵の月齢は７.８で、十五夜の半分です。

　写真を拡大して見ると中央の山脈に影が出来てることが分かります。ここでは、きっと地球における日の出のような状況なのでしょう。月面では昼間が１５日ほど続き、夜も１５日ほど続きます。月面から見える星座は地球で見る星座の形と同様です。大気が薄いので、地球で見る星座より明瞭と考えられます。

　月には酸素がなく、昼と夜の温度差は考えられないほどの大差であり、赤道付近では、昼は110℃、夜は－170℃と、その差は200℃以上といわれます。やはり、人類は快適この上もない緑いっぱいの地球で仲良く暮らしたいものです。

Dear earthlings

　This is tonight's waxing moon taken by me at 6pm. Please compare it to the day before yesterday's moon in this page. The area of ​​the moon illuminated by sunlight has expanded even further, and earthshine is no longer visible. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan announced that tonight's moon is 7.8 days old, halfway of the full moon.

　If you zoom in the photo, you can see a shadow by the mountain range in the center. Around here will be similar to sunrise on Earth. On the moon's surface, daylight lasts for about 15 days, and night also lasts for about 15 days. The constellations visible from the moon's surface are the same as those seen on Earth. Because the atmosphere is thin, it is thought to be clearer than when viewed from Earth.

　There is no oxygen on the moon surface, and the temperature difference between day and night is unimaginable. Near the equator, it is said that temperatures range from 110°C during the day to -170°C at night, so that the difference of more than 200°C. After all, humanity should live in harmony on the incredibly comfortable Earth with a full of greenery.

月を眺め、月の大きさを実感する

　画像をクリックし拡大すると、月の欠けてる部分が薄く見えます。これは太陽光で光ってる地球の光に照らされて、うっすらと見える現象で地球照といわれます。日本で見えるの地球照はインド洋やアフリカ大陸の光が反射していると私は推測します。

　月の直径は３４７４kmといわれます。このため、今宵の月の上の細い所から下の細い所までの距離はおよそ３４００Kmほどでしょう。因みに、北海道最北の稚内市～先島諸島の宮古島までの直線距離はおよそ２７３１kmなので、日本はすっぽり入ってしまい、月のおよその大きさが理解できます。

　昨日の月の写真と比較すると、太陽に当たってる部分が大きくなってることが分かります。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3n1dDX9_Nk...

  

　Dear my Facebook friends who are crazy about the space

If we click on the image to enlarge it, we earthlings can see that the night part on the moon appears faint. This is a phenomenon called earthshine, where the moon surface is illuminated by the light of the Earth by shining in sunlight. I speculate that the earthshine seen in Japan is reflected from the Indian Ocean and the African continent.

　As you know, the moon's diameter is said to be 3,474 km. Therefore, the distance from the top narrowest point of the moon tonight to the bottom narrowest point is approximately 3,400 km, I guess. Incidentally, the straight-line distance from Wakkanai-City, the northernmost city in Hokkaido, to Miyako-Island in the Sakishima Islands is approximately 2,731 km, so 　Japan fits completely within that, so we can understand ​​the approximate size of the moon.

Compared to yesterday's photo of the moon in this page, we can see that the exposed part of the moon by the sun has become larger.

漢字の月の字に似てます。

　今宵、西南の空に輝く「上弦の月」です。高い山脈に太陽光が当たってるのが分かります。明日は晴れでしょう。

　漢字の「月」の字は、今宵のような欠けた月の形を描いた象形文字といわれます。確かに似てますね。

　Tonight, a waxing moon shines in the southwestern sky by seeing in Japan. We earthlings can see the sunlight shining on the high mountain ranges. Tomorrow will be sunny.

　The kanji character for "moon" is said to be a pictograph that depicts this shape of a crescent moon like we see tonight. It certainly looks similar.

今宵は十三夜です。

　今宵は十三夜です。午後６時前に撮りましたら、少し薄い雲がかかってるので、再度、雲が切れたら撮り直します。しかし、地球の自転により、今度は弦の部分が少々上向きになります。

　いつの日か、十三夜を見ながら、人生を語りたいですね。

追伸・・・写真は再度、午後９時３０分に撮った今宵の十三夜の月です。

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJDE2VkoZQ...

　As you notice, tonight is the 13th moon night of the lunar calendar. I took this photo just before 6pm, but there are some thin clouds covering the moon, so I'll take another photo after the clouds clear. However, due to the Earth's rotation, the string of the moon will be pointing slightly upwards next time.

　In the near future, I'd like to talk about life with you while watching the 13th moon night.

　P.S.・・・ The photo is of tonight's thirteenth night moon, taken by me again at 9:30pm.

【英訳は日本文と微妙に違います。】

月がきれいに見える季節の到来

　今宵、西南の空に浮かぶ月です。少々薄雲の中にあり、明確度が今一です。それでも月面の日の出の部分では高い山脈が分かります。

　この月が日に日に大きくなると「中秋の名月」になります。その日は現行暦で今年は１０月６日です。江戸時代では秋は７月８月９月でしたから８月は中秋です。この日は太陰太陽暦(旧暦)で８月１５日です。

　いよいよ秋本番です。今宵、月を見逃した方は明日以降見ましょう。なお、この時、月面から地球を見ると全く逆で左側が広く光ってます。

Dear my friends who are crazy about astronomy

　Tonight, the moon floats in the southwestern sky in Japan. It is hidden by some thin clouds, making it less clear. Even so, we can see the high mountain ranges in the sunrise part of the moon's surface.

　As the moon grows larger day by day, it will become the "Mid-Autumn Festival." This year, that date falls on October 6th in the current calendar. As you know, in the Edo period, autumn consisted of July, August, and September, so August is the Mid-Autumn. This day is August 15th in the lunar calendar (old calendar).

　Autumn is finally here. If you missed the moon tonight, try to watch it tomorrow or later. At this time, if you look at our Earth from the moon's surface, the view is exactly the opposite, with a wide, shining area on the left side.