Cool Moon Facts by Whip

Real astronomy and dated history, with sources. Documented traditions and folklore. Modern lunar astrology · symbolic, not predictive.

Planets and points · Advanced

True Node

Also called osculating node

The node of the Moon's actual orbit at that instant, which wobbles about a degree and a half either side of the mean node.

The true (osculating) node is where the orbit the Moon is following at that moment would cross the ecliptic. It sometimes moves forward for a while. This site uses it by default.

How it is worked out
From the Moon's position and velocity: the plane they define, intersected with the ecliptic.
  • Kind: Calculation
  • Tradition: Shared across Western traditions
  • In this site’s birth chart: used

Related: Mean Node, Lunar nodes

Written for Cool Moon Facts in its own words. An astrology source documents what astrologers believe or practise; it does not establish that astrology works.

All terms · Your birth chart

Settings

Your location

Only used to work out rise and set times. It stays in this browser.

Moon orientation

Southern-hemisphere skies show the moon flipped. This follows your location automatically.

Saved facts

Everything saved here

This site keeps your location, your saved facts and your settings in this browser and nowhere else. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing here can be recovered once it is gone.

Cool Moon Facts · built by Whiptronics LLC

Gear that makes it better

Where these numbers come from