Nature Bulletin No. 253-A   January 21, 1967
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Richard B. Ogilvie, President
Roland F. Eisenbeis, Supt. of Conservation

****:THE MOON

On January 22 there will be a full moon and, unless it is cloudy, this 
"circled orb" will rise in the eastern sky, a little after sunset, like a 
broad round golden mirror. That' s what it really is: a sort of mirror that 
reflects the light of the sun back to us. People used to plan their work, 
journeys and festivities according to the sign of the moon so that they 
could use its light. In every kitchen there was an almanac which showed 
the days of the week and month, the times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise 
and moonset, the signs of the moon, the eclipses, and the signs of the 
zodiac. Certain crops were planted only "in the light of the moon"-- 
others, like potatoes and turnips, only "in the dark of the moon". Some 
superstitious folks would not have their hair cut, butcher meat, trim 
vines or shingle a house except when the moon was "right".

After "full moon", it rises later and later each evening -- an average of 
about 51 minutes later each day -- until, at the end of a week, it doesn't 
rise until about midnight. Then, partly turned away from the sun, half 
shaded and half bright, it is said to be in its "last quarter". Another week 
later, the moon is "dark", rising a little before sunrise with only a 
feebly-shining slender crescent along the one edge. A day or two later, 
it is seen in the west just after sunset and is said to be a "new moon". A 
week later it is overhead at sunset, is half lighted, and is in the "first 
quarter". The time between one new moon and the next averages 29-1/2 
days, varying somewhat according to the season and the latitude.

The moon's path around the earth is an ellipse, so that its distance from 
us varies -- averaging about 240,000 miles. The sun is over 90 million 
miles away. Occasionally, as the moon moves directly in front of the 
sun, its shadow sweeps across a rather narrow strip somewhere on the 
earth's surface, producing an eclipse of the sun. Within that shadow it 
becomes so dark that chickens go to roost and we turn the street lights 
on. Likewise, the earth's shadow occasionally falls on the face of a full 
moon to produce an eclipse but, because the earth's diameter is four 
times greater, that eclipse is sometimes visible all over the world.

The moon ' s path around the earth is not quite in line with the plane of 
the earth's path around the sun. Because of this tilt, the "full" and "dark" 
moons are usually above or below the line between the earth and the 
sun. Otherwise, every new moon would eclipse the sun and every full 
moon would be eclipsed by the earth. The plane of the moon' s orbit 
swings back and forth, which explains why in some years it ranges 
farther north and farther south in the sky than in other years. These and 
other irregularities combine to make it a most difficult task to chart and 
predict the phases and eclipses of our celestial playmate.

Recently, pictures have been taken of the moon and there are plans to 
visit the satellite in the near future. It has no air, no clouds, no water. 
The sun shines for about 15 days, followed by 15 days of darkness. 
During the long moon day, the starts would shine in an inky black sky 
and the barren surface would be hotter than boiling water. At night the 
temperature would plunge to about 460F. degrees below zero. A 200-lb. 
athlete would weigh only 33 pounds and could easily jump over a 
house.

No one has ever seen the other side of the moon. On our side it has very 
steep mountain ranges rising over 30,000 feet, and is pocked with 
thousands of circular craters, some of which are 100 miles across. The 
broad dark patches that the ancients thought were seas, and which 
suggest the "man in the moon" to imaginative people, are flat deserts 
covered with lava or volcanic ash.

It is responsible for our tides and most June weddings.