Sideways Moon

Bessie

I think I (she's) got it--as in M Fair Lady. While I was driving, I was thinking and I actually figured it out.

Then I read the lastest post and yes--I see the light (ha ha )

Thanks you all very much

armolinasf

I noticed a sideways moon a few months ago and it puzzled me for a few days, but I never bothered to ask someone about. Glad to see it popped up here

hiluhree

all this scientific stuff sounds great but you arent answering the question. because i witnessed this same event tonight in Oklahoma and it was a very bright tint of yellow and horizontal rather than vertical. if it was just a monthly thing that happened i would have seen it before now because i am out at all hours of the night every night. and also if it happened often why isnt it included on ANY science based moon phase charts? there is no explanation on any website that is pure fact. so it leads me to believe that there is something more to this.

russ_watters

Welcome to PF. It's probably not included in texts because it is a trivial result of the rotation of the sky. Yet as you can see from the older posts, we get this question almost every winter because it happens every winter and people just don't recognize it as being normal because they don't see it everynight. But note, all of the constellations do this too - and the circumpolar ones (the ones in the north) can be seen in any orientation, rotating all 360 degrees (because they are always in the sky, unlike the southern ones that only rotate up to about 180. The Big Dipper (circumpolar) can be rightside up, upside down or sideways. Orion can lean to the left, be right-side-up or lean to the right. So you can witness this phenomena every night of the year even if you can only see it in the moon 30 or so days a year.

Wardancer

I too have found this a curious phenomenon and can only say that i have seen a "tilted" moon in the past but never so "tilted" and am finding it difficult to understand the mechanics of it.!
Seasonal tilt ? NO unless the moon is semi blocked by earth from sun..!?
axial shift and tilt? more likely as not only moon is in an odd cycle and the stars are not where i am used to them appearing from my vantage point ..!??
any how i truly would love some one to do a 3d model and demonstrate this ..!!!

davenn

You do realise that this thread is over a year old ??

and it has nothing to do with the moon being "semi-blocked from the sun bythe earth"
in that case there would be a partial eclipse!!

Dave

Wardancer

feb 27 - 28th 2012 the moon was appearing side ways and has been appearing like that alot more lately and on a semi regular basis...!

Wardancer

Both Rising and Setting its been at what i estimate a nearly 70-80degree off angle tilt from what i consider to be normal...!

SHISHKABOB

well, the amount of illuminated moon surface that you can see changes over the course of the year, the day and where you are on the earth due to the rotation of the earth, the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun

so it changes a lot by quite a bit sometimes!

unless you are looking at the moon every night at the same time and recording its position over a very long period of time, then I must declare your evidence as anecdotal and fragmented, not sufficient for scientific deduction

Vladimirr

It's an issue of perception.

Go outside, face east, and extend your arm straight out to the east. Point your thumb upwards. This is the direction the moon will follow when it rises.

With your arm extended, and your thumb pointing straight out from your hand, bend your elbow and let your hand move upwards in the direction of your thumb. Eventually, your arm will be pointing straight up, and your thumb will be pointing towards your head. From your perspective, or from any observer, your thumb will now be "sideways" to where it started. Remember, your thumb was previously facing "up"!

If you continue this motion, your arm will be facing west and your thumb will be pointing downwards. (It's now upside-down!)

Drakkith

An excellent and simple explanation Vladimirr!

Bobbywhy

Go to this site, download the program, and set in your location. It automatically shows the sky including the stars, planets and moon in real time(today's date and time) for your location. You can change the date and watch the phases of the moon. It's not as good as reality, but it's a fine substitute.

http://www.stellarium.org/