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Lunar Month
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A lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the Moon to pass through each of its phases (new moon, half, full moon), and then return back to its original position. It takes 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds for the Moon to complete one lunar month.
The Moon. Image credit: ESA
You might have heard that the Moon only takes 27.3 days to complete one orbit around the Earth. So why is a lunar month more than 2 days longer than the orbit of the Moon?
A lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the Moon to get from a specific phase, like a new moon, back to the same phase. In other words, the Moon has to get back to the point in its orbit where the Sun is in the same position from our point of view. Since the Moon is going around the Sun with the Earth as part of its orbit, the Moon has to catch up a little bit on each orbit. It takes 2.2 additional days each orbit of the Moon to catch up.
This method of measuring a lunar month, from new moon to new moon, is known as a synodic month. A new moon is defined as when the Moon has the same ecliptic longitude as the Sun, as seen from the center of the Earth; when the Sun, Moon and Earth are perfectly lined up.
Simulated view of the moon’s phases. The period of time from new moon to new moon is known as the lunar month, lunation or synodic month. From the years 1760 to 2200, the longest lunar month spans 29 days 19 hours and 58 minutes (Dec. 9, 1787 to Jan. 8, 1778) while the shortest lasts for 29 days 6 hours and 34 minutes (June 12 to July 12, 1885).
days and months names
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No. | Month | Arabic name | Transliteration |
---|---|---|---|
1 | January | كانون الثاني | Kānūn ath-Thānī |
2 | February | شباط | Shubāṭ |
3 | March | آذار | Ādhār |
4 | April | نيسان | Nīsān |
5 | May | أيار | Ayyār |
6 | June | حزيران | Ḥazīrān / Ḥuzayrān |
7 | July | تموز | Tammūz |
8 | August | آب | Āb |
9 | September | أيلول | Aylūl |
10 | October | تشرين الأول | Tishrīn al-Awwal |
11 | November | تشرين الثاني | Tishrīn ath-Thānī |
12 | December | كانون الأول | Kānūn al-Awwal |
No. | Name | Arabic | Meaning | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Muḥarram | مُحَرَّم | forbidden | A sacred month, so called because battle and all kinds of fighting are forbidden (ḥarām) during this month. Muḥarram includes ʿĀshūrāʾ, the tenth day. |
2 | Ṣafar | صَفَر | void | Supposedly named thus because pre-Islamic Arab houses were empty this time of year while their occupants gathered food. Another account relates that they used to loot the houses of their enemies after defeating them in battle, leaving nothing behind. |
3 | Rabīʿ al-awwal | رَبيع الأوّل | the first spring | Also means to graze, because they used to graze their cattle during this month. |
4 | Rabīʿ al-thānī | رَبيع الثاني | the second spring | |
5 | Jumādá al-ūlá | جُمادى الأولى | the first of parched land | Often considered the pre-Islamic summer. Jumādá may also be related to a verb meaning "to freeze" and another account relates that water would freeze during this time of year. |
6 | Jumādá al-ākhirah | جُمادى الآخرة | the last of parched land | |
7 | Rajab | رَجَب | respect, honor | This is the second sacred month in which fighting is forbidden. Rajab may also be related to a verb meaning "to remove", so called because pre-Islamic Arabs would remove the heads of their spears and refrain from fighting. |
8 | Shaʿbān | شَعْبان | scattered | Marked the time of year when Arab tribes dispersed to find water. Shaʿbān may also be related to a verb meaning "to be in between two things". Another account relates that it was called thus because the month lies between Rajab and Ramaḍān. |
9 | Ramaḍān | رَمَضان | burning heat | Supposedly so called because of high temperatures caused by the excessive heat of the sun. Ramaḍān is the most venerated month of the Hijri calendar. During this time, Muslims must fast from pre-dawn till sunset and should give charity to the poor and needy. |
10 | Shawwāl | شَوّال | raised | She-camels would normally be in calf at this time of year and raise their tails. |
11 | Dhū al-Qaʿdah | ذوالقعدة | the one of truce/sitting | This is a holy month during which war is banned. People are allowed to defend themselves if attacked. |
12 | Dhū al-Ḥijjah | ذوالحجة | the one of pilgrimage | The holy month in which the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca (the Ḥajj) occurs and during which war is banned. |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arabic | al-Aḥad الأحد "First day" |
al-Ithnayn الإثنين "Second day" |
al-Thulāthāʾ الثلاثاء "Third day" |
al-Arbaʿāʾ الأربعاء "Fourth day" |
al-Khamīs الخميس "Fifth day" |
al-Jumʿah الجمعة "Gathering day" |
as-Sabt السبت "Day of Rest" |
English | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |