Moon Up-Side-Down ????

i have seen the crescent moon on its back as a U but is that unusual? idk,

heres a link to digest the mechanics of moons orbit

astro.unl.edu...

note sun lies on the ecliptic plane, and so does the shadow of earth (ofc) an eclipse is that moment the moon touchs the ecliptic while in front or behind earth from the sun

also note the wobble of earth on its axis and spinningness

it seems a U moon is probably normal xD

There is a University study on this very subject that I ran across about a month ago... forgot the university name... began with a C and had 2 L's in it I think and was kind of a long name. I'll try to find it later if I have the time.

I haven't even seen the moon for almost a week now. It disappeared around the 26th and I haven't seen it since. I don't know if it's just where I'm located (Nevada) or what, but it's kinda creeping me out. And I'm a nocturnal creature, I see the moon more than the sun usually...

(Also first post on ATS, been lurking for a whiiiiiile but never bothered to get an account until now.)

reply to post by Vamp333


I'm a star gazer but I'm no astronomer.
Only thing I can say about this is good for your son. I am glad he questions what he sees and I hope he continues to do so as he grows up. More people should question what they see

Originally posted by ArrowsNV
I haven't even seen the moon for almost a week now. It disappeared around the 26th and I haven't seen it since. I don't know if it's just where I'm located (Nevada) or what, but it's kinda creeping me out. And I'm a nocturnal creature, I see the moon more than the sun usually...

(Also first post on ATS, been lurking for a whiiiiiile but never bothered to get an account until now.)

I haven't seen the moon for awhile as well..I use to see it every night..It would shine in my window but now nothing what so ever..Its like its gone..Can some one explain that one..Oh and to the mother of her child..You have a very very smart child...Give your child a great big hug and tell your child great job....smart child..

Originally posted by eeks4

Originally posted by ArrowsNV
I haven't even seen the moon for almost a week now. It disappeared around the 26th and I haven't seen it since. I don't know if it's just where I'm located (Nevada) or what, but it's kinda creeping me out. And I'm a nocturnal creature, I see the moon more than the sun usually...

(Also first post on ATS, been lurking for a whiiiiiile but never bothered to get an account until now.)

I haven't seen the moon for awhile as well..I use to see it every night..It would shine in my window but now nothing what so ever..Its like its gone..Can some one explain that one..Oh and to the mother of her child..You have a very very smart child...Give your child a great big hug and tell your child great job....smart child..

I'm located in West Virgina and last night still no moon..The funny thing is that i was seeing the moon all night and all day long and now nothing what so ever...Hmmm

I too, gaze on a normal basis, and have noticed soemthing out of the ordinary. I'm located in the midwest (west of the Mississippi that is) and right now the Moon is visible during mid-day in the southern sky. It is the cresent moon, however, it appears to be illuminated on the wrong side. The Sun will be directly overhead and the Moon wil be bright on it's right side (west from my location. It also appears to be much larger than normal. It goes out of view at around midnight or 1:00am.

Also wanted to add that the Earth's spin doesn't seem right either. The Big Dipper is illuminated in the northwest (from my location) at sundown then rotates to the northeast at 3:00am. It's almost like the sky is doing a flip-flop. I have never observed this happening before.

Just my 2 cents ya' know!

reply to post by Vamp333


It's a normal effect driven by field rotation. You are observing the moon from an altitude-azimuth perspective, thus the moon's apparent orientation will be determined by its position in the sky and your position on earth. From a polar aligned perspective, the moon's orientation is fixed and normal regardless of your location on earth.

I recorded this just last night, be sure to read the description on the youtube page if you want more details:

reply to post by eeks4


The moon's rise and set times will change over the course of a month in accordance with its phase. I guarantee you haven't seen the moon every single night until now. It was out last night though; I recorded several hours of lunar footage myself.

Altitude-Azimuth Tracking:
www.ustream.tv...
Polar Aligned Tracking:
www.ustream.tv...

That footage was used to make the above comparison video showing how field rotation affects our view of the moon over the course of an hour, and how it's just an effect of viewing from a non-polar aligned perspective.

I've noticed oddities about the moon. One night I looked at it and thought, "That's NOT the moon." It was square at the bottom and really weird looking. It was more of an intuitive flash that made me stare at it to determine WHY I had such a strange thought about it. It was okay after that.

I'm not a space case, but it seems as if our orbit is off. Lots of oddities lately.

Your son is a sharp kid! I loved the links other posters gave and saved them to share with children that I know. Great information, once again from an incredible website! (It's us that make it that way!

Originally posted by Vamp333
I have a 10yo son who has a thing about watching the moon from his bedroom window... he has done it since he was about 3yo..

a few months ago he came into me + said "mum.. the moon is up-side-down"

seriously i couldnt tell u if it was or if it wasnt for the life of me..

anyway.. he has said it a few times since then + again a few nights ago when we were out driving at night...

"look mum... see... its up-side-down again"

i told him i couldnt tell.. + he replied "well can u ask someone on that 'secret website' u go on"

so here i am... asking for my son.... has anyone else noticed this....?

im in Sydney Australia incase thats usefully information.

I had a moon question about a week ago, it looked like it was slightly off its normal course. Man did i get hammered, stick it out someone with compassion and niceness will come in and give your son an answer peace

Originally posted by lbndhr
I had a moon question about a week ago, it looked like it was slightly off its normal course. Man did i get hammered, stick it out someone with compassion and niceness will come in and give your son an answer peace

I also recorded the positions of the stars relative to the moon last night so that I could astrometrically determine its position and definitively show that it isn't off its normal course. I'll analyze that part of the video a bit later.

i too am from Sydney, but have been travelling the euro-circuit for some months now, one of the first things i noticed was that the moon was upside down, totally blew my mind. i assume because we are looking up towards the equator not down towards the equator it appears different to us, weird as....

i have been a smoker for going on 13 years now, which has given me ample opportunity to stare endlessly at the night skies, i've never noticed anything too weird about the moon until i came here (europe), where it was upside down (which as i stated before, i assume to be a geographical phenomenon) although, i did get here at around the same time as your son noticed it upside down, so perhaps my assumptions are wrong, and it actually is upside down, in which case, i better get back home and head out bush ASAP

This may be shocking to most of you, but we are on a small spec of dust zipping through space at a great amount of speed on an orbit within an orbit at an odd angle. Most of you truly do not understand how the solar system moves, let alone the moon.

Check this out.

Originally posted by thestillborn1
I too, gaze on a normal basis, and have noticed soemthing out of the ordinary. I'm located in the midwest (west of the Mississippi that is) and right now the Moon is visible during mid-day in the southern sky. It is the cresent moon, however, it appears to be illuminated on the wrong side. The Sun will be directly overhead and the Moon wil be bright on it's right side (west from my location. It also appears to be much larger than normal. It goes out of view at around midnight or 1:00am.

Also wanted to add that the Earth's spin doesn't seem right either. The Big Dipper is illuminated in the northwest (from my location) at sundown then rotates to the northeast at 3:00am. It's almost like the sky is doing a flip-flop. I have never observed this happening before.

Just my 2 cents ya' know!

actually he has said something along those lines a few weeks ago .. actually now i think about it... he's commented on it more than once... just the random comment when we are driving during the day like.. "why is the moon out...?" + "why is the moon there..?" like its in the wrong spot in the sky..

its 5am here.. so he's asleep at present so i cant comfirm that thats what he was on about... but im sure thats what he's said more than once... will check with him today.

just wanted to say thankyou to everyone who has posted clips... will be showing my son them all .. he'll love them... hopefully they will help explain things to him.. if not.. be prepared for more questions from him..

also i appreciate all the replies of help.. as im not an expert in this field + it seems as tho my son might be one day.. so i dont want to make up just some random answer to his question.. or to simply tell him to stop being silly.. so thankyou

reply to post by cantsee4looking




Get a life you cronie punk.



As for the moon being upside-down.. I really do not know, I have been gazing for awhile but cannot tell, I will be sure to keep my eyes peeled for differences.

Honestly, I have noticed this same thing but didn't want to mention it around here without sounding like a dummy... and it shows up at least 4 or 5 hours later now. It was coming up in my backyard around 10:00pm central time all summer and now its been as late as 2:00am. My guess would be when seasons change, so does the ecliptic.

Look at this thread...www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Vamp333
actually he has said something along those lines a few weeks ago .. actually now i think about it... he's commented on it more than once... just the random comment when we are driving during the day like.. "why is the moon out...?" + "why is the moon there..?" like its in the wrong spot in the sky..

It sounds like it's a good opportunity to teach your son about lunar phases and how they're related to where the moon is in the sky at a given hour.
www.astronomyknowhow.com...
As I've been trying to explain, the moon is where it should be in the sky, it's just a matter of teaching your son how the moon orbits the earth and how its phases relate to its rise and set times so that he can form correct expectations about when and where to look for it.