2012 Full Moon vs School Holidays Disaster!

[laser_jock99]

If like me you have school age children and are forced to take vacation during school holidays then 2012 is not looking very good at all. Just checking the callendar to see when the optimum weeks to book might be and there aren't any!

Easter fortnight- full moon was on 6th April mid holiday.

June halfterm- full moon on the 4th June (no good for imaging anyway due light nights)

Summer Break/August Bank holiday- full moon occurs right at the end 31st August when I would normally book a week off (may have to bring forward a week or two now- but later would have been better)

October Halfterm- again full moon slap bang in the middle 29th October.

Christmas Fortnight- full moon on the 28th Dec right in the middle.

If you were planning to tie in school holidays with observing this year it's not looking good.

[Peter Drew]

Good time to buy the PST that's missing from your sig.

[russ.will]

Nice idea and then it wil be cloudy all day too.

Russell

[gliderpilot]

It is good for observing the moon and planets just not so good for deep sky objects. My approach is just to go with what the weather god and family goddess give. If it's a clear night with a moon then I'll happily observe the moon.

Clear skies to you,

Mark

[Reggie]

Time to learn to embrace lunar instead of fight her!

[661-pete]

The Easter holiday is always going to occur at or around the Full Moon. The rule for setting the date of Easter Sunday is: the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox. It is true that the definitions of 'Full Moon' and 'Equinox' used in this calculation do not quite coincide with the astronomical events, but close enough.

So Easter Day is never going to be more than a week away from a Full Moon.

For the other holidays - true: it's pot luck.

I think it would be far better if the bank holidays (and hence - the school term breaks) were moved away from religious festivals altogether, and set at fixed times of the year with no religious or political connections. But I'm not holding my breath...

[Viv]

Some of Englands Easter holiday is this week & next.

I'm off all of next week - ha ha ha (oh look clouds) .............

Lots of events on that last weekend of August, all organised for when the Olympics are over & done with.

[ollypenrice]

Despite being 'in the trade' - indeed in both trades, since I was previously a teacher - I'd never thought about this!

Olly

[laser_jock99]

It is good for observing the moon and planets just not so good for deep sky objects. My approach is just to go with what the weather god and family goddess give. If it's a clear night with a moon then I'll happily observe the moon.

Clear skies to you,

Mark

I had more in mind people that used holiday times to go away to dark sky sites and spend some time observing. We can all view the moon and planets from home. Could be a nuisance to dedicated deep sky imagers who are tied to school vacations though? Or an excuse to buy some 3nm narrowband filters!

[mark skelton]

Why can't easter be on a fixed date like christmas. Who thought of the idea that easter should be in the sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox and why?

[SFlowers]

It isn't usually this bad, it is because they've moved half term in May to coincide with the Queen's Jubilee. Better luck next year! I am quite lucky - as a teacher with children I can at least find a decent week in the summer to go away. However it's not usually the moon that's the problem - it's the clouds and rain