Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries

ible and where to look. This applies everywhere in the world
at roughly the same times of the local day.
PHASE
Through the Phases
RISES
in
eastern
sky
During its phases, the Moon does not shine with its
own light, but gets its light from the Sun, as the Earth does.
The shape of the Moon seems to change a little from night
to night. But the Moon doesn’t really change shape. Because
the Moon circles the Earth once every day, only those
on Earth who are in relative darkness can see it, and what
they see is only the part of the Moon that has Sunlight falling
on it. Most of us no longer believe that the Moon is
born again when new, and dies on the wane, or that, as was
the belief in Morocco, a completely new Moon comes each
month, and the place where the Dead dwell, paradise, is
full of old Moons.
We look at the Moon almost every time we look up
and we think we know it. But presumably because it is so
familiar, many people do not realise, that a Full Moon can
be only seen at night, between sunrise and sunset, and never
61
CROSSES
southern
sky
in
N
hemisphere,
northern
sky
in
S.
hemisphere
SETS
in
western
sky
NewMoon Sunrise Noon Sunset
1stQuarterNoon Sunset Midnight
FullMoon Sunset Midnight Sunrise
3rdQuarterMidnight Sunrise Noon