# "It was a dark evening with only the feeble light of a waning crescent moon." How much basic astronomy is widely understood by those not specifically interested in the subject?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 2, 2022, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200 "2022-11-02T08:29:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/41 "2022-11-02T18:09:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> It’s a miracle as it is that most people can tell the Sun from the Moon, and night from day. Knowing when in the day a waning moon is visible is rocket science to them.
The Sun is up during the day, when it is bright out, and the moon is up during the night, when we need it for the light it provides. 🙄
I’ve known that a full moon rises and sets opposite the Sun as long as I can remember. If I thought about it for a second, I’d know that a crescent moon is going to be either high in the sky or under the horizon at sunrise or sunset, but I’d have to spend a considerable time deciding if it is the waxing or waning phase, and I’d probably had a 40% chance of getting it wrong.
That said, I know plenty of otherwise educated people who wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ve heard that the full moon is always directly overhead, that the moon has a light side and a dark side, that a solar eclipse is when the moon comes between the Earth and the Sun (correct), and that a lunar eclipse is when the Sun comes between the Earth and the Moon (wildly incorrect).
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/42 "2022-11-02T18:22:10Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> that the moon has a light side and a dark side
I blame Pink Floyd for that misconception. 😉
---
### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/43 "2022-11-02T18:32:05Z")
Maybe, I blame the Jetsons. I remember an episode where there was a sign that marked the transition from the light side to the dark side. I only remember that because, even at the time, I knew that was incorrect.
---
### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/44 "2022-11-02T18:36:04Z")
Well, it has a side that (at this moment) is lit, and a side that (at this moment) is dark.
This is one of those “It’s not even wrong” things.
---
### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/45 "2022-11-02T18:47:01Z")
Heck, I have an Astronomy degree and I didn’t know offhand about particular times when waxing/waning/full rise or set in the sky. That said, due to electives and coursework, the Earth’s moon was never even mentioned, it was all other planets and moons, stars, and cosmology.
I’ve explained to my mom at least once a year that moon phases are not from the earth’s shadow, and no the “supermoon” event in the newspaper is not going to fill up the whole sky.
---
### Author:  [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/46 "2022-11-02T18:51:09Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#):
>
> How much is not understood by those not specifically interested in lunar astronomy? Very little, in my experience.
You meant to say, “How much is understood…”, right?
Sorry to pick on you, I just found the mistake amusiing in the midst of such a highbrow conversation. 😀
---
### Author:  [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/47 "2022-11-02T18:52:27Z")
> [@Jas09](#):
>
> There is no chance they know that the changing rising/setting times and the illuminated portion are related.
That’s about where I am, with one exception.
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> but even I would have to sit and puzzle it out to figure out “if there’s a crescent moon in the night sky, is it waxing or waning?”
I know that you can tell whether a crescent moon is waxing or waning by the shape. If the crescent makes a C, then it’s waning. If it would fill the belly of a capital D, then it’s waxing.
---
### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/48 "2022-11-02T18:53:39Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#):
>
> I’ve known that a full moon rises and sets opposite the Sun as long as I can remember.
Anyone into astronomy knows that, but most people aren’t. Quite a lot of people don’t know why the Moon has phases.
It might seem ignorant, but of course we’re all appallingly ignorant of SOMETHING. Maybe most things.
---
### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/49 "2022-11-02T18:58:15Z")
> [@cincinnatus](#):
>
> Two days a year, near March 21 And Sept. 22.
He did not say “due East”. Most of the year the generalization is good enough.
I wouldn’t know about the “waning crescent moon”, but I would know about the full Moon “rising at Midnite”. You can even sometimes see the Moon during the day.
I do know the terms like “waxing gibbous”- which I always thought sounds vaguely Lovecraftian.
Those stupid nicknames they give on news feeds like “Wolf moon” etc, slightly piss me off.
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/50 "2022-11-02T19:04:27Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#):
>
> I blame Pink Floyd for that misconception. 😉
But they do have this one line in their song:
“There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it’s all dark.”
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/51 "2022-11-02T19:05:45Z")
> [@alovem](#):
>
> You meant to say, “How much is understood…”, right?
I either meant that or I meant to write “Very much” instead of “very little”.
---
### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/52 "2022-11-02T19:17:28Z")
> [@Ruken](#):
>
> if you’d stopped me over the weekend, pointed at the crescent moon that I remember seeing after dinner, and asked me if it were waxing or waning, I couldn’t have told you immediately. I’d have had to think a minute about an imagined 3-body model.
I only know due to some song lyrics:
_Reach out to the crescent moon, grab hold of the hollow_
_If she sits on the palm of your right, that moon will be fuller tomorrow_
_If she sits on the palm of your left, that moon is on the wane…_
I took an astronomy class in college and did well but we never discussed correlation between lunar phases and times the moon appears in the sky. It’s the sort of thing I’d think is neat and probably (sorta) remember if I saw it mentioned in a space documentary but holds no day to day relevance for me.
---
### Author:  [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/53 "2022-11-02T19:19:08Z")
For the real dyed-in-the-wool lunatics out there, here is a website that discusses the moon-phase in Tolkien’s LOTR.
[https://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html](https://shire-reckoning.com/moon.html)
Tolkien rewrote _The Lord of the Rings_ extensively in order to try to get this right, and he still made several mistakes. This might be forgiven in some instances, since he seems to have used a layman’s interpretation of the term New Moon, rather than the meaning used by astronomers.
---
### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/54 "2022-11-02T19:34:16Z")
What _really_ bothers me is when you can see stars in the unlit portion of the moon. For even more aneurysm points, have the moon pass in _front_ of the clouds.
---
### Author:  [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/55 "2022-11-02T19:35:50Z")
Of course. Again, not trying to give you grief. 😀
---
### Author:  [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/56 "2022-11-02T19:37:15Z")
I must admit to being a dyed-in-the-wool lunatic myself, since I spotted the problem with the waning crescent Moon straight away.
I also recognised that the full Moon rises somewhere near sunset, but the Moon’s orbit is significantly tilted with respect to the ecliptic, so there is a lot of variation throughout the year. Not to mention the effects of refraction due to the Earth’s atmosphere, which add a touch of randomness into the mix.
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/57 "2022-11-02T19:41:08Z")
I never thought you were. I point out word misuse/confusion too. Especially when “its” and “it’s” are not used correctly.
---
### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/58 "2022-11-02T19:57:17Z")
> [@cincinnatus](#):
>
> > [@susan](#):
> >
> > the sun rises in the east.
>
> Two days a year, near March 21 And Sept. 22.
>
> [Fun reading.](http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/sunrise.html)
And in the summer, at higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere the sun clearly rises in the northeast and sets in the northwest, thus spending part of the day in the northern part of the sky, contrary to intuitive expectations that in the northern hemisphere the sun is always in the southern part of the sky.
---
### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/59 "2022-11-02T19:58:51Z")
For me, it was more that I don’t think I ever heard _that_ piece of astronomical knowledge, but once the idea that the full moon rises at sunset because it’s _exactly_ opposite the sun was understood, the rest sort of fell into place naturally.
But it’s the sort of thing that someone either has to really think about, or that someone has to specifically tell them. Few people are just going to realize that without either of those situations being true.
---
### Author:  [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200/60 "2022-11-02T19:59:53Z")
With the extreme being within the Arctic circle, where the Sun can be directly north of you.
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200.md?page=2)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-was-a-dark-evening-with-only-the-feeble-light-of-a-waning-crescent-moon-how-much-basic-astronomy-is-widely-understood-by-those-not-specifically-interested-in-the-subject/974200.md?page=4)