It was cloudy last night, and thus I missed the total lunar eclipse. This is cruelly ironic because, since we were driving back from Bible study, I was actually awake at the time. Last lunar eclipse, it was cloudy in Virginia, where I was at the time. Michael, in Georgia, got to see it fine. He described it to me over the phone. I hear my family back in Virginia got a fine view last night. Just have to be in the right place at the right time, I guess.
Do you know how you can tell whether the moon is waxing or waning? I have a very fun mnemonic for the purpose. It's so handy to be able to rattle off glibly, 'Waxing gibbous,' or 'Waning crescent,' or 'Waxing first quarter.'
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2 comments:
Mnemonics are great, but they can be kind of ridiculous sometimes. There's a couple I met recently named the Damerons. The sensible way to remember the name is "Cameron spelled with a D." But when I heard them say it, all I could think of was Gotterdammerung - the Norse version of the end of the world. So all night long whenever I looked at them, I could remember their name (which is a good and, for me, unusual thing), but it was overlaid with ominous overtones. --DJ
P.S. Okay, let us know what your mnemonic for moon phases is.
(Speaking of unforgettable mnemonics, I shall never forget Scott Somerville's reference to the Stumbo family the first time he mentioned it in prayer!)
It's very simple. Actually, Dr. Somebody-or-other discovered the whole phases of the moon concept, and the mnemonic is named after him: just remember that the moon progresses through the letters of the word DOC. At first, when it is curved on the right, it is waxing. Then it is full. Then it is curved to the left, when it is waning. So at a glance, you can tell where it is: first quarter is new moon through D; second quarter is D through O; third quarter is O through C; and fourth quarter is C through new moon.
~Rose
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