For the Egyptian hawk-god, see
Menthu.
The month is a unit of time, used with calendars, which is approximately as extensive as some natural period
related to the motion of the Moon. The traditional concept arose with the cycle of moon phases; such months (lunations) are synodic months and last
approximately 29.53 days. From excavated tally sticks, researchers have deduced that people counted days in relation to the Moon's phases as early
as the Paleolithic age. Synodic months are still the basis of many calendars today.
Astronomical background
The motion of the Moon in its orbit is very complicated and its period is not constant.
Moreover, many cultures (most notably those using the ancient Hebrew (Jewish) calendar
and the Islamic calendar) start a month with the first appearance of the thin crescent
of the new moon after sunset over the western horizon. The date and time of this actual
observation depends on the exact geographical longitude as well as latitude, atmospheric conditions, the visual acuity of the
observers, etc. Therefore the beginning and lengths of months in these calendars can not be accurately predicted. Most Jews
currently follow a precalculated calendar, but the Karaites rely on actual moon
observations.
Sidereal month
The period of the Moon's orbit as defined with respect to the celestial sphere is
known as a sidereal month because it is the time it takes the Moon to return to a given position among the
stars (Latin: sidus): 27.321661 days (27 d 7 h 43 min 11.5 s). This type of month has been
observed among cultures in the Middle East, India, and China in the following way: they divided the sky into 27 or 28
lunar mansions, defined by asterisms (apparent
groups of stars), one for each day of the sidereal month.
Tropical month
It is customary to specify positions of celestial bodies with respect to the vernal equinox. Because of precession, this point moves back
slowly along the ecliptic. Therefore it takes the Moon less time to return to an ecliptic
longitude of zero than to the same point amidst the fixed stars: 27.321582 days (27 d 7 h 43 min 4.7 s). This slightly shorter
period is known as tropical month; cf. the analogous tropical year of the
Sun.
Anomalistic month
Like all orbits, the Moon's orbit is an ellipse rather than a circle. However, the
orientation (as well as the shape) of this orbit is not fixed. In particular, the position of the extreme points (the line of the
apsides: perigee and apogee),
makes a full circle (lunar precession) in about nine years. It takes the Moon longer to
return to the same apsis because it moved ahead during one revolution. This longer period is called the anomalistic month,
and has an average length of 27.554551 days (27 d 13 h 18 min 33.2 s). The apparent diameter of the Moon varies with this period,
and therefore this type has some relevance for the prediction of eclipses (see Saros), whose extent, duration, and appearance (whether total or annular) depend on the exact apparent
diameter of the Moon. The apparent diameter of the full moon varies with the full moon cycle which is the beat period of the synodic and anomalistic month, and also the period after
which the apsides point to the Sun again.
Draconic month
Also called the nodical month. The orbit of the moon lies in a plane that is tilted with respect to the plane of the ecliptic:
it has an inclination of about five degrees. The line of intersection of these planes
defines two points on the celestial sphere: the ascending node, when the moon's path
crosses the ecliptic as the moon moves into the northern hemisphere, and descending node
when the moon's path crosses the ecliptic as the moon moves into the southern hemisphere. The draconic or nodical month is the
average interval between two successive transits of the moon through its ascending node. Due to the sun's gravitational pull on
the moon, the moon's orbit gradually rotates westward on its axis, which means the nodes gradually rotate around the earth. As a
result, the time it takes the moon to return to the same node is shorter than a sidereal month. It lasts about 27-1/5 days
(27.212220 days or 27 d 5 h 5 min 35.8 s). The plane of the moon's orbit precesses over a
full circle in about 18.6 years.
Because the moon's orbit is inclined with respect to the ecliptic, the sun, moon, and earth are in line only when the moon is
at one of the nodes. Whenever this happens a solar or lunar eclipse is possible. The name
"draconic" refers to a mythical dragon, said to live in the nodes and eat the sun or moon during an eclipse.
Synodic month
This is the average period of the Moon's revolution with respect to the sun. The synodic month is responsible for the
moon phases because the Moon's appearance depends on the position of the Moon with respect
to the Sun as seen from the Earth. While the moon is orbiting the earth, the Earth is progressing in its orbit around the Sun.
This means that after completing a sidereal month the Moon must move a little farther to reach the new position of the Earth with
respect to the Sun. This longer period is called the synodic month from the Greek syn hodô (σὺν ὁδῴ), meaning "with
the way [of the sun]". Because of the perturbations of the orbits of the Earth and Moon, the actual time between lunations may range from about 29.27 to about 29.83 days. The long-term average duration is 29.530588 days (29 d
12 h 44 min 2.8 s). The synodic month is used in the Metonic cycle.
Month lengths
Here is a list of the average length of the various astronomical lunar months [1]. These are not constant, so a first-order (linear) approximation of the secular change is
provided:
Valid for the epoch J2000.0 (1 Jan. 2000 12:00 TT):
| sidereal month |
27.321661547 + 0.000000001857 × y days |
| tropical month |
27.321582241 + 0.000000001506 × y days |
| anomalistic month |
27.554549878 − 0.000000010390 × y days |
| draconic month |
27.212220817 + 0.000000003833 × y days |
| synodic month |
29.530588853 + 0.000000002162 × y days |
Note: time expressed in Ephemeris Time (more precisely Terrestrial Time) with days of 86,400 SI seconds. y is years since the epoch (2000), expressed in Julian years of 365.25 days. Note that for
calendrical calculations, one would probably use days measured in the time scale of Universal
Time, which follows the somewhat unpredictable rotation of the Earth, and progressively accumulates a difference with
ephemeris time called ΔT.
Calendrical consequences
- For more details on this topic, see lunar calendar and lunisolar calendar.
At the simplest level, all lunar calendars are based on the approximation that 2 lunations last 59 days: a 30 day full
month followed by a 29 day hollow month — but this is only marginally accurate and quickly needs correction by using
larger cycles, or the equivalent of leap days.
Second, the synodic month does not fit easily into the year, which makes constructing accurate,
rule-based lunisolar calendars difficult. The most common solution to this problem is the Metonic
cycle, which takes advantage of the fact that 235 lunations are approximately 19 tropical
years (which add up to not quite 6940 days). However, a Metonic calendar (such as the Hebrew calendar) will drift against the seasons by about 1 day every 200 years.
The problems of creating reliable lunar calendars may explain why solar calendars,
having months which no longer relate to the phase of the moon, and being based only on the motion of the sun against the sky,
have generally replaced lunar calendars for civil use in most societies.
Months in various calendars
Julian and Gregorian calendars
The Gregorian calendar, like the Julian
calendar before it, has twelve months:
- January, 31 days
- February, 28 days, 29 in leap years, or 30 on
certain occasions in related calendars
- March, 31 days
- April, 30 days
- May, 31 days
- June, 30 days
- July, 31 days
- August, 31 days
- September, 30 days
- October, 31 days
- November, 30 days
- December, 31 days
- One of Wikipedia's sister projects, Wiktionary,
provides translations of each of the Gregorian/Julian calendar months into a dozen or more languages. Month-by-month links are
provided here: January, February, March, April,
May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December.
The average month in the Gregorian calendar has a length of 30.4167 days or 4.345 weeks in a non-leap year and 30.5 days or
4.357 weeks in a leap year.
Months existing in the Roman calendar in the past include:
The famous mnemonic Thirty days hath
September is the most common way of teaching the lengths of the months in the English-speaking world.
On top of the knuckles (yellow): 31 days
Between the knuckles (blue): 30 days
February (red) has 28 or 29 days.
The knuckles of the four fingers of one's hand and the spaces between them can be used to remember the lengths of the months.
By making a fist, each month will be listed as one proceeds across the hand. All months landing on a knuckle are 31 days long and
those landing between them are not. When the knuckle of the index finger is reached (July), go back to the first knuckle (or over
to the first knuckle on the other fist, held next to the first) and continue with August. This physical mnemonic has been taught
to primary school students for many decades.[2][3][4][5]
Calends, nones, and ides
The ides occur on the thirteenth day in eight of the months, but in March, May, July, and October, they occur on the
fifteenth. The nones always occur 8 days before the ides, i.e., on the fifth or the seventh. The calends are always
the first day of the month.
This calendar was proposed during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about twelve years from late
1793. There were twelve months of 30 days each, grouped into three ten-day weeks called décades. The five or six extra
days needed to approximate the tropical year were placed after the months at the end of each year. A period of four years ending
on a leap day was to be called a Franciade. It began at the autumn equinox:
- Vendémiaire
- Brumaire
- Frimaire
- Nivôse
- Pluviôse
- Ventôse
- Germinal
- Floréal
- Prairial
- Messidor
- Thermidor
- Fructidor
Islamic calendar
There are also twelve months in the Islamic calendar. They are named as follows:
- Muharram ul Haram (or shortened to Muharram) محرّم
- Safar صفر
- Rabi`-ul-Awwal (Rabi' I) ربيع الأول
- Rabi`-ul-Akhir (or Rabi` al-Tיhaany) (Rabi' II) ربيع الآخر أو ربيع الثاني
- Jumaada-ul-Awwal (Jumaada I) جمادى الأول
- Jumaada-ul-Akhir (or Jumaada al-THaany) (Jumaada II) جمادى الآخر أو جمادى
الثاني
- Rajab رجب
- Sha'aban شعبان
- Ramadhan رمضان
- Shawwal شوّال
- Dhul Qadah (or Thw al-Qi`dah) ذو القعدة
- Dhul Hijja (or Thw al-Hijjah) ذو الحجة
Hebrew Calendar
The Hebrew calendar has 12 or 13 months.
- Nisan, 30 days ניסן
- Iyyar, 29 days אייר
- Sivan, 30 days סיון
- Tammuz, 29 days תמוז
- Av, 30 days אב
- Elul, 29 days אלול
- Tishri, 30 days תשרי
- Heshvan, 29/30 days חשון
- Kislev, 29/30 days כסלו
- Tevet, 29 days טבת
- Shevat, 30 days שבת
- Adar 1, 30 days, intercalary month אדר א
- Adar 2, 29 days אדר ב
Adar 1 is only added 7 times in 19 years. In ordinary years, Adar 2 is simply called Adar.
Hindu Calendar
The Hindu Calendar has various systems of naming the months. The months in the lunar
calendar are:
- Chaitra
- Vaishaakha
- Jyaishtha
- Aashaadha
- Shraavana
- Bhaadrapada
- Aashvayuja
- Kaartika
- Maargashiirsha
- Pausha
- Maagha
- Phaalguna
These are also the names used in the Indian national calendar for the newly
redefined months.
The names in the solar calendar are just the names of the zodiac sign in which the sun
travels. They are
- Mesha
- Vrishabha
- Mithuna
- Kataka
- Simha
- Kanyaa
- Tulaa
- Vrishcika
- Dhanus
- Makara
- Kumbha
- Miina
- Chitirai
- Vaikasi
- Aani
- Aadi
- Aavani
- Purratasi
- Aiypasi
- Kaarthigai
- Maargazhi
- Thai
- Maasi
- Panguni
Iranian/Persian calendar
The Iranian / Persian calendar, currently used in Iran
and Afghanistan, also has 12 months. The Persian
names are included in the parentheses.
- Farvardin (فروردین), 31 days
- Ordibehesht (اردیبهشت), 31 days
- Khordad (خرداد), 31 days
- Tir (تیر), 31 days
- Mordad (مرداد), 31 days
- Shahrivar (شهریور), 31 days
- Mehr (مهر), 30 days
- Aban (آبان), 30 days
- Azar (آذر), 30 days
- Dey (دی), 30 days
- Bahman (بهمن), 30 days
- Esfand (اسفند), 29 days, 30 in leap years
Icelandic/Old Norse calendar
The old Icelandic calendar is not in official use anymore, but some holidays and annual feasts are still calculated according
to it in Iceland. It has 12 months, broken down into two groups of six often termed "winter months" and "summer months". The
calendar is peculiar in that the months always start on the same weekday rather than on the same
date. Hence Þorri always starts on a Friday sometime
between January 19 and January 25
(Old style: January 9 to January 15) , Góa always starts on a Sunday between
February 18 and February 24 (Old style: February 8 to February
14).
- Gormánuður (mid October - mid November, "slaughter month" or "Gór's month")
- Ýlir (mid November - mid December, "Yule month")
- Mörsugur (mid December - mid January, "fat sucking month")
- Þorri (mid January - mid February, "frozen snow month")
- Góa (mid February - mid March, "Góa's month, see Nór")
- Einmánuður (mid March - mid April, "lone" or "single month")
- Náttleysi ("Nightless days")
- Harpa (mid April - mid May, Harpa is a female name, probably a forgotten goddess, first
day of Harpa is celebrated as Sumardagurinn fyrsti - first day of summer)
- Skerpla (mid May - mid June, another forgotten goddess)
- Sólmánuður (mid June - mid July, "sun month")
- Heyannir (mid July - mid August, "hay business month")
- Tvímánuður (mid August - mid September, "two" or "second month")
- Haustmánuður (mid September - mid October, "autumn month")
Notes
See also
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