Harvest Moon Photographic Competition
Free fossil heritage talk by Geologist Dr. Matthew Parkes from Ireland’s Natural History Museum at 4pm on Friday, September 16th in The Conservatory, Hook Head Lighthouse.
Call Cathy 051-397055
Harvest Moon Photographic Competition
The first Harvest Moon Celebration at Hook Lighthouse, which is set to take place on September 16th, is set to feature at photographic competition.
The tip of the Hook Peninsula is the ideal spot for watching the slideshow of nature in the skies, “During sunrise, sunset, moonrises and on starry nights the Hook Peninsula offers incredible vistas. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone for the Harvest Moon Celebration and we know it will offer ample opportunity for great photographs so we will host a photographic competition during the event and a prize for the best Harvest Moon at Hook Lighthouse photograph is also up for grabs.”
Anyone who wishes to have their image considered for the competition can email their image with their details to info@oldsite.hookheritage.ie by 5pm on September 17th.
The Harvest Moon celebrations will commence with a free fantastic fossil heritage talk by Geologist Dr. Matthew Parkes from Ireland’s Natural History Museum. At 4pm on Friday, September 16th in The Conservatory, Hook Head Lighthouse Matthew will talk about the rich fossil heritage at Hook Head, and the many different animal groups described by paleontologists from this special place. The fossil evidence reveals how Hook was a shallow tropical sea, teeming with life, some 340 million years ago when these rocks formed. The talk will also explore how best people can enjoy seeing the fossils, and also how they can be protected from damage and exploitation. Specimens will be available for people to handle and see close-up what they look like.
Following the talk, at about 5 pm there will be a guided walk on the rocks themselves to see fossils in sit. From 6pm the Lighthouse Visitor Centre will open especially late, come along and find a spot to watch nature at its best during the autumn equinox, enjoy some treats from the Hook Lighthouse Barbeque and some Hook Pilsner and sample the brand new Hook beers and a harvest brew from Arthurstown Brewing Company which have all been brewed from the harvesting of locally grown malted barley & enjoy some chill out music.
For those wishing to climb the tower with a limited number of €10 tickets will be available for the Moonlight visit to the Lighthouse tower, these can be booked in advance by calling 051 397055.
A full harvest moon is set to rise on Friday, September 16th. In any year, the Harvest Moon is celebrated for featuring the year’s grandest procession of moonlit nights. Harvest Moons are more colorful than other full moon, when the moon is full, the moon is at its brightest, and the entire disk is visible. In traditional skylore, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, so the Harvest Moon will present the closest and largest full moon of the year. It’s special because, at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, the time between successive moonrises – from one night to the next – is shorter than usual.
On average, the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day. But when a full moon happens close to the autumnal equinox, the moon in Europe rises only about 10 to 20 minutes later daily for several days before and after the full Harvest moon. These early evening moonrises are what make every Harvest Moon special. Every full moon rises around sunset. After the full Harvest Moon, you’ll see the moon ascending in the east relatively soon after sunset for a few days in a row at northerly latitudes.
For further details call Hook Lighthouse on 051 397055.