# Crescent Moon- what does it look lke? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860 "2011-09-01T17:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wood\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Wood\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/1 "2011-09-01T17:43:28Z")
Currently the moon I am seeing over Melboune, Australia is a crescent moon. But it appears to be the bottom of the moon. I only ever remember seeing the left side or right side of the moon as the crescent. So is this an anomaly? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/2 "2011-09-01T17:55:06Z")
It depends on your latitude. Close the the equator, the more horizontal it looks. [Here](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1872/why-does-the-moon-look-different-near-the-equator) is a good explanation. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/3 "2011-09-01T18:53:12Z")
The lit side points toward the sun. If the sun is below the moon, like now, when it’s a very new moon, close to the sun (from our perspective), the lit portion will be pointing down. It’s still the right side, you just have to tilt your head to get the right up-and-down axis. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/4 "2011-09-01T21:27:11Z")
In the mid-latitudes, the phenomenon you describe is most pronounced near the spring equinox–March for me, September for you. In September the crescent Moon has a much more southerly declination than the Sun, causing it (for you) to be farther from the Sun in altitude but closer in azimuth. For me, in September, the reverse is true; the crescent Moon rides lower along the horizon and the lit side is more rightward. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/5 "2011-09-01T21:50:04Z")
Cheshire Cat moon. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/6 "2011-09-01T21:55:09Z")
A waxing moon has the lit side pointing west and a waning moon has the lit side pointing east. Whether it looks like it’s pointing up down or sideways depends on how you’re facing relative to that. That’s pretty much all I’ve retained from astronomy class. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/7 "2011-09-02T14:44:03Z")
This [page](http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/applets/eclipticmoon/eclipticmoon.html) lets you see what the crescent moon looks like in different locations and at different times. Freeze time while the moon is up and you can see how it looks when seen at the same time from different latitudes. ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/8 "2011-09-02T16:36:57Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > This [page](http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/applets/eclipticmoon/eclipticmoon.html) lets you see what the crescent moon looks like in different locations and at different times. Freeze time while the moon is up and you can see how it looks when seen at the same time from different latitudes. Thank you! That was unexpectedly fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crescent-moon-what-does-it-look-lke/594860/9 "2011-09-03T03:04:17Z")
Crescent moon looks like a toenail. Actually, if you can mentally draw a line from horn to horn, mentally extend another line perpendicular from the center, and that would tell you where the sun’s position is, assuming it’s below the horizon. But since crescent moons are always closest the sun, that’s pretty typical. In the same sense, the full moon rises in the east when the sun sets.