December 2022

[Gone]

Why call it first quarter ( yes I know that is what it is called)  when twice that is a full moon?  Makes no sense.

Makes even less sense to call the waning quarter the third quarter ..... what happened to the second quarter?

[Fons Baerken]

Why call it first quarter ( yes I know that is what it is called)  when twice that is a full moon?  Makes no sense.

Makes even less sense to call the waning quarter the third quarter ..... what happened to the second quarter?

Relative from the earthside first quarter, 2nd quarter, similar to full moon, third quarter waning moon, fourth quarter or new moon is no moon.
Moon's course is 28 or 29 days, which in the antique world  was a mo(o)nth, thus moonphases are weeks.

[Brute]

The sun setting on 2022.
Roosevelt Elk, and Mt. St. Helens.

[ColinM]

Why call it first quarter ( yes I know that is what it is called)  when twice that is a full moon?  Makes no sense.

Chris, isn't what you are calling a "full" moon only one side of it?!
After all, we only ever see half of the whole moon and only half of it is ever fully illuminated by the sun....
 

[Gone]

Absolutely - but the naming is a bit like saying the phases are no apples, 1 apple, 1 orange, 3 apples....
It only starts to make a little sense if you refer to the moon's orbit around the earth - new, one quarter,  one half,  three quarters. Then some bright spark ignored the orbit and called the half point a full moon which makes the quarters nonsense ....

[John Geerts]

Ouch!
Fascinating vase John
[/quoteThanks Colin


Great shot of the museum, Luc !