The Stonehenge has, for centuries, bewilderingly endured on the lush green meadows of Wiltshire in England, its origin and purpose wrapped in the cloth of mystery. Having triggered intensive study, one of the many theories proposes an intrinsic link between Stonehenge and an intimate celestial body, the moon. The rare lunar events, particularly, might have an incredible correlation to unravel.
The configuration of Stonehenge, as per various studies, points toward the possibility of it being a prehistoric calendar. The monument’s orientation and the specific alignment of its stones suggest a probable link to celestial activities. Many experts assert that the layout of Stonehenge indicates the specific points in the landscape where the sun and the moon rise and set during solstices and equinoxes. This alignment might mark important seasons and ascertains time reckoning for ancient societies.
Recently, attention has been drawn to the connection between Stonehenge and the moon, particularly during a unique lunar event – a lunar standstill, which occurs every 18.6 years. The phenomenon was first identified by Scottish engineer, Alexander Thom, during his intensive study of stone circles in the British Isles in the 1970s. He described the lunar standstill as a visual spectacle where the moon appears to stop its usual course and change direction in the sky, due to the tilt in the moon’s orbit around the Earth.
What lights up interest is the alignment of the Station Stones at Stonehenge relative to this event. The outer rectangle of the Station Stones perfectly maps the extreme positions the moon swings to during a lunar standstill – marking its rising and setting points. During the major lunar standstill, the moon appears at its highest and lowest points in the night sky in an 18.6-year cycle, which positions are indicated by the Station Stones. This observation has opened a doorway to the possibility that the Neolithic people possibly tracked the shifting lunar cycles to predict the lunar standstills.
Interestingly, this unusual tilt of the Moon’s orbit also heavily influences the moon’s illumination, which varies with every transition and contributes to the rare lunar events like the blue moon, blood moon or supermoon. The Stonehenge, with its impressively precise structure, could therefore actually be a tool for precisely predicting these astronomical events.
Supporting this theory, ethnographic studies have also revealed that many traditional and Indigenous societies consider lunar standstills a significant time of change and transformation. Some Indigenous communities still celebrate these lunar