Does Stonehenge have a connection to the moon? Rare lunar event will provide ... trends now
Stonehenge is famous for its alignment with the sun, which is why visitors flock to the ancient site at the start of summer.
But 5,000 years ago, the ancient Wiltshire monument may also have been carefully built with our lunar satellite in mind.
Experts think some of the famous upright stones were arranged to align with the moon during an event called 'major lunar standstill'.
Occurring just once every 18.6 years, this is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along the horizon, as viewed from Earth.
Thousands of years ago, ancient Brits may have worshipped at the site during major lunar standstill, just like they did for the summer and winter solstice.
Stonehenge is famous for its alignment with the sun, but the ancient monument may have also been carefully designed to align with the movements of the moon
Stonehenge is the world’s most famous Neolithic monument, located on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, is famous for its alignments with the sun
A project to investigate Stonehenge's link with the major lunar standstill is being led by experts at the universities of Oxford, Leicester and Bournemouth.
Dr Fabio Silva, senior lecturer in archaeological modelling at Bournemouth University, said this 'major lunar standstill season' runs from February 2024 to November 2025.
'It happens twice a month for about 1.5 to two years,' he told MailOnline.
'For example, this past Saturday the moon was at its northernmost limit, and in a fortnight it will be at its southernmost.
'This will repeat every month for the rest of 2024 and most of 2025.'
How exactly the moon will align with Stonehenge's individual stones is yet to be seen.
But experts think that during the major lunar standstill, the moon will be in alignment with Stonehenge's ancient 'Station Stones'.
Although only two are still standing, the Station Stones marked the corners of a perfect rectangle with its central point in the exact centre of the monument.
One of the sides of this rectangle appears to be pointing in a southeast direction, corresponding to where the moon will be rising during major lunar standstill.
'We want to assess whether this is likely to be by chance or whether it was intentional,' Dr Silva told MailOnline.
Experts think that during the major lunar standstill, the moon will be in alignment with Stonehenge's ancient 'Station Stones'. Although only two are still standing, the Station Stones marked the corners of a perfect rectangle with its central point in the exact centre of the monument
The Station Stones are elements of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. Originally there were four stones, resembling the four corners of a rectangle. Pictured is Station Stone 'S93' at the south-west corner of the Station Stone Rectangle
'So we want to assess where one needs to stand, how many people could effectively witness the alignment, whether after rising/before setting the moon will be obscured by other stones that may diminish the experience, whether moonlight casts shadows inside the circle.
'These are the things that, put together, may help us build an argument for or against these alignments.'
It's already well known that the whole layout of Stonehenge is positioned in relation to the summer and winter solstices – when the Earth's tilt towards the sun is at its most extreme, either at the north or south pole.
In the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs when Earth's north is most greatly tilted towards the sun, and the winter solstice occurs when it's titled away from the sun.
Stonehenge was deliberately built to align with the sun on the solstices, according to English Heritage, which manages the site.
It explains: 'At Stonehenge on the summer solstice, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone in
