Talk:Lunar phase
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Would be nice if somebody could define lunar fortnight such as used on the fasting page Togo 05:17, 20 May 2004 (UTC)
Southern Hemisphere difference in moon phases an error?
Is it true that "In the southern hemisphere, the above is reversed" regarding left and right sides of the moon? How could that possibly make a difference?
Accuracy of phase calculation?
I'm having trouble getting the lunar phase calculation at the bottom working. I think partly because of the terms it is written in. They seem cryptic to me. I also question the accuracy of the formula, as I found an alternative online and it was many times more complex. Perhaps this one will only work between such and such years? This is unclear, again as I said, as is the way to use the formula. For these reasons I suggest the formula be removed untill someone more mathematically abled than me has the time to fix it, or add more explination as to it's use.
Contradiction with Eclipse
In the eclipse article, it is stated:
- Lunar eclipses - the Earth obscures the Sun, from the Moon's point of view. The Moon moves through the shadow cast by the Earth. This can only happen at full moon.
- Solar eclipses - the Moon occults the Sun, from the Earth's point of view. The Moon casts a shadow that touches the surface of the Earth. This can only happen at new moon.
However, in this article, the opposite appears to have been said: "Note that the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about 5 degrees with respect to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Therefore, eclipses of the Moon during the full Moon and of the Earth by a new Moon are rare and usually newsworthy."
I believe what is being said is that it's rare to happen during a perfectly full or new moon, but I don't know enough about the subject to tell which is correct--someone who does should make them match up. Chris 01:24, 13 May 2005 (UTC)