New Year, New Moon - sunset, dusk and the arrival of the moon, Venus and the stars at twilight at Newgrange

The first evening of the new year was a glorious one at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley. The first sunset of 2017 was magnificent, followed by a descent into twilight that featured rich hues and colours, and then the crescent moon next to Venus, the Evening Star, made it a really gorgeous close to the day. In a couple of the shots, you might also catch a glimpse of Mars, which was trailing the Moon and Venus. I was lucky to be able to spend time there putting together this very special time lapse video. It might have been cold, but it was lovely.

Enjoy watching this time lapse with music to match. You will see the sun setting behind Réaltoge Hill, and the last tourists of the evening departing from Newgrange, before seeing the gradual arrival of twilight and darkness. Shot on four different cameras from six different vantage points over the course of four hours. Well worth the effort, I hope you agree. This video captures some of the essence of a place that, as a sacred monument, sees hundreds of visitors every day, but which once evening falls becomes a lonely and lovely place.

What could be better than to watch the sun, moon, planets and stars from Newgrange, where our ancient ancestors did likewise?

The 12 days of Solstice - Day 6 - Venus, the Evening Star, in the winter twilight sky over Newgrange

It's Day 6 or 'The 12 days of Solstice' and today's image features Venus, the Evening Star, over Newgrange at dusk in winter. The cycles of the heavenly bodies were undoubtedly recognised by early societies across the world. At Newgrange, the yearly cycle of the sun is definitively memorialised through the alignment of its passage and chamber with Winter Solstice sunrise. Less well known is the fact that at certain times of the year the moon can also cast its light in through the roof box and into the passage and sometimes the chamber.

The bright planet Venus, which is the third brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon, follows a distinct pattern over the course of eight years, sometimes appearing in the mornings before sunrise for a number of weeks or months, and sometimes appearing in the evening after sunset. After eight years, this pattern repeats. Could the builders have seen and known this?

Joseph Campbell wrote about a folk belief in the Boyne Valley that suggested the morning star cast a beam of light into the chamber of Newgrange once every eight years, at dawn. Uriel's Machine authors Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas suggest that a series of eight markings on the lintel stone above the roofbox of Newgrange represent the eight years of the Venus cycle. Indeed, on one year out of every eight, Venus rises on the morning of the Winter Solstice around an hour before the sun and an observer prostrate in the chamber of Newgrange would be able to see it through the roofbox.

In her guise as the morning star, Venus was known in Ireland as caillichín na mochóirighe, the 'early-rising little hag'.(1)

As you can see from the image above, Venus is a brilliant object. Compare it with the several stars visible in the image, which are much fainter. It is said that in complete darkness, away from city lights, the light of Venus casts a shadow. The folklore recorded by Campbell suggests that, once every eight years, the Morning Star "may be seen to rise and cast its beam precisely to the place of the stone with the two worn sockets".(2)

References:
(1) Murphy, Anthony (2012), Newgrange: Monument to Immortality, Liffey Press, p.77.
(2) Campbell, Joseph (1991) [1959], The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology, Pengiun Compass, p.431.

Further reading:
Do the myths about Newgrange and the Boyne Valley mounds offer an insight into their function?

The Milky Way and the Evening Star at Newgrange

I spent a beautiful evening out at Knowth and Newgrange in the Boyne Valley after sunset this evening. It was cold, but clear, and the colours in the fading twilight were absolutely beautiful. The above photo shows something I have never captured before, and was delighted to get on camera. It shows the bright band of the Milky Way over Newgrange. It also shows, sitting just above Newgrange and about to set behind it, The Evening Star - Venus.

I had been in the Boyne Valley for over an hour after sunset, from around 4.30pm. Venus was easily visible in strong twilight and I got several photos of it with Newgrange. But just as I was about to drive away to go home, I stopped at this viewing location and could see that the Milky Way was visible. So I jumped out of the car (which was still running) and put my 8mm wide angle lens on the camera and quickly set up for a 25-second exposure. It was very cold out - just 2 degrees celcius - and my fingers were numb from all the standing around over the previous hour and a half.

However, this shot, taken at 5.53pm, was well worth the effort I think. I'd safely say that's the earliest time after sunset that I've ever taken a photo of the Milky Way. And I'm glad I did. I drove home with a big smile on my face. Five minutes later and Venus would have disappeared behind the ancient mound of Newgrange.

It's nice also to have captured a photo of the Milky Way above Newgrange. In ancient times, the Milky Way might have been known as Bealach na Bó Finne, the Way of the White Cow, and the goddess who was venerated in the valley and who gave her name to the Boyne River was Bóinn, the White Cow goddess. It's likely that the Milky Way was seen as a heavenly reflection of the Boyne.

This is a scene that, as the builders of Newgrange would have well known, will only be repeated once every eight years...

Circles in stone at Dowth

Dowth kerbstone with circular carvings, illuminated from different angles to highlight the art.

This is a montage of four different images of a kerbstone at Dowth that has a number of circular features carved onto its surface.  I headed out with the camera tonight to try to get a photo of the triple conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter over Newgrange, but was disappointed when a bank of cloud rolled in before it got dark enough to get a nice shot. Not to waste the journey, I went from Newgrange to Dowth (my son Luke was with me for company) and we decided to try to light some of the kerbstones on the eastern side.

This stone is located two stones to the right of the famous kerbstone 51, the Stone of the Seven Suns. It is better exposed now than in any of my previous visits over the years. Some work has been done in recent time to clear away the grass around these kerbstones, which are fenced off to keep livestock away. Regrettably, whoever carried out the work also cut down a lone bush which had grown over kerbstone 51 a couple of years back.

To try to highlight the four circular features apparent on this stone, I tried to light it from different angles using a technique which I have been fond of for 16 years now which is familiar to photographers as "painting with light". What do these arcane circles represent? We could make many guesses. Given that Dowth's mythology as well as its design are likely connected to the study of eclipses, we could speculate that these are perhaps representative of full moons. Cosmic imagery is plentiful on the monuments of the Boyne Valley, where a community of farmers and astronomers built huge stone structures aligned on cosmic events over 5,000 years ago.

Triple conjunction of Moon, Venus and Jupiter over
Newgrange, pictured in 2012.

While we did not see the triple conjunction in all its glory, we did get a glimpse at the three planets hanging in the evening sky over Newgrange just before the cloud obscured them, and wondered what our ancient ancestors would have made of such a sight all those millennia ago.

Fittingly, as Dowth's Irish name, Dubhadh, means "darkness", it became pretty much completely overcast as we photographed its stones . . .

Venus and Mercury over misty Newgrange & Knowth

Click on the image to see a larger version.

This is tonight's shot of Venus and Mercury over Newgrange and Knowth in the Boyne Valley, taken June 6th. There was a low band of cloud on the northern horizon and you can see Venus is about to set behind it. There was also quite a bit of mist and haze in the valley. Mercury is near the upper left of the shot.
Below is a version of the shot with labels, in case you are not able to pick out Mercury or to differentiate the monuments.

The Evening Star setting at Newgrange, Ireland

The Evening Star, Venus, setting behind Newgrange. Click image to see larger version.

More than 5,000 years ago, the people who built Newgrange peered out into the heavens and watched the movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars. They recorded some of these apparently complex movements on the giant stones which make up their enormous passage-mounds. A folk tale about Newgrange says that once in eight years, the morning star (Venus) shines into its chamber on the morning of the winter solstice. The above photo was taken coming up to summer solstice, with Venus on the opposite side of the sky to the winter solstice position. Mercury is also in this picture, higher up, above Newgrange, but is very difficult to see.

An eerie mist surrounds the cattle on the fields in front of Newgrange, with Venus to upper right.

Newgrange and Mound B with mist forming on the Boyne in the afterglow.

Mercury and Venus in the twilight above Newgrange

Venus and Mercury in the twilight over Newgrange. Click image to see larger version.

I spent a nice time this evening on Redmountain, across the Boyne Valley from Newgrange, watching for a rare sight. Both Venus and Mercury were visible in the twilight, but with Venus lower to the horizon and Mercury higher up. It was a beautiful June evening, following a glorious warm sunny day here in Ireland. I caught a glimpse of both planets from my home at around 10.30pm and decided to head out into the valley with the camera. It was a fruitful exercise. I first spotted Mercury with the naked eye at 10.55pm, although it had been visible in pictures for at least ten minutes previously. I watched Venus all the way to the horizon, where it set at 11.15pm. 

I love this time of year, when the twilight stretches right into the night, and the sky doesn't get fully dark. It's such a beautiful time, and reminds us that, despite the short cold days of winter, the long days always come eventually. Summer Solstice is only 17 days away now. Seventeen days and the sun will begin to change its course southward again.

One important fact to note about tonight's observation is that I was located on Redmountain, at roughly the point where the sun appears over the hill when it shines into Newgrange on Winter Solstice. With Venus setting behind Newgrange at this time, roughly opposite the Winter Solstice sunrise position, we are reminded that Boyne Valley folklore suggests that Venus shone into Newgrange once in eight years on the morning of Winter Solstice.