So many books have characters remark “it was well past moonrise”, or something else equally ridiculous, to show the passage of time at night. The moon cycle is a month long (~27 days), not some paltry 24 hours. If you know any authors please spread the word. Together we can stamp out this astronomical disillusionment!
[EDIT]
A smarter than me commenter below pointed out that, due to the way days work, it does indeed rise and set once a day. Hard to do a complete rotation and keep a celestial body in the sky. Womp womp, I am silly.
I should have instead argued that moon rise and set are not linked to sun rise and set, and that the moon doesn’t exclusively rise and set at night. It is possible to have the moon out during the day time. They are on different schedules is all.
Moon Rise, Moon Set, and Moon Phase are three different things.
https://earthsky.org/moon-phases/understandingmoonphases/
"The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, every day.
It has to. The rising and setting of all celestial objects is due to Earth’s continuous daily spin beneath the sky.
So, when you see a thin crescent moon in the west after sunset, it’s not a rising moon. Instead, it’s a setting moon. In fact, it rose earlier in the morning soon after the sun rose."
So, locally, for me today:
https://www.timeanddate.com/moon/usa/portland-or
Moon Rise - 1:34 am
Moon Set - 5:20 pm
Meridian Passing - 9:34 am @ 246,883 miles.Ah, got me there. Thanks for the info!
My main point, that moon rise and set don’t bookend nighttime, still stands. I was just arguing with the wrong deets. 1:34 am and 5:20 pm are not the start and end of the night. I’ll edit my post to better reflect reality in a bit.
I’ve actually read some books that did this well, like needing to sneak around after moon set or continuing to travel after moon rise.
It rises and downs same as the sun every day with the rotation of the earth. That has nothing to do with the moon cycle.
Stop being nitpicky and destroy things for others because you have to split hairs.
Yes but it doesnt always align with night time. Half of the time the moon is rising at the same time as the sun. Its very common for the moon to be visible during the daytime if its on the other side of the sky from the sun so we can see the light reflecting off of it
Reality often takes a backseat to narrative in books/movies/games/etc. If you want to “well akshuly” your way though a book, you’re likely to find a lot of details the author got wrong. At the same time, those failed details may provide useful ways for the author to move the story or scene along. “Moonrise” is one of those areas where, if you polled most people, the majority would probably get it wrong. But it’s a useful trope in stories where clocks and precise timekeeping aren’t a thing and where lunar accuracy is also not important. A character saying “it’s well past moonrise” will convey to many readers the idea that it’s pretty late in the night. Could it be done another way? Sure, but the trope gets the job done and not one really cares about the inaccuracy.
Moon rise is used the same as sun set, and in most contexts has nothing to with the phase of the moon or sun. The phrase “it was well past moonrise” indicates that the moon is at it’s peak in the sky. To say that it indicates anything else would show a lack of understanding of how the sun and moon move around the sky. A phrase like “the big bright moon was imposing on the sky” would show the reader that the moon is a full moon and the largest thing in the sky. (That is unless we’re talking about the day-night cycle on a different planet, then I take back everything.)
Is the story set on earth?
If so, is it this earth?
Hey there! I totally get where you’re coming from. It’s true, the moon has its own schedule and doesn’t play by the same rules as the sun. It can rise during the day or night, depending on its phase. Authors sometimes simplify things or might not get into the nitty gritty of astronomy. It’s kind of like how movies always show people waking up with perfect hair – not exactly realistic, but it gets the point across!
It’s pretty cool how the moon’s cycle works, though. It’s always fascinating when you catch a glimpse of it in the daytime, like a secret bonus level in the game of sky-watching.
Maybe one day we’ll see more accurate representations in books, and who knows, maybe you’ll be the one to educate the next best-selling author! Keep sharing those fun facts!
