Blessed be the Moon

Originally in this post I had the moon phases for the month of August, not realizing that the embedded calendar would change with each passing month. So here is something a little more appropriate and steady that can be used as reference.

Moon Facts

The moon is our planet's only natural satellite and its size is about a quarter of the Earth's diameter. The moon takes about 27.3 days to revolve around Earth, traveling at an average distance of about 384,000 kilometers. During this Lunar Month, the moon waxes and wanes, from dark to full and back to dark again, in a cycle of birth, growth, transformation and death to rebirth. There are approx. 13 Lunar Months in a calendar (or Solar) year.Moonrise takes place about 51 minutes later each day than the day before. The dark moon cannot be seen because the illuminated side faces away from the earth. This occurs when the Moon lines up between the Earth and the Sun.As a general guide to moon rise times, use this traditional saying:

The New Moon rises at sunrise.

And the first quarter at noon.

The Full Moon rises at sunset.

And the last quarter at midnight.

If the Moon is already up in the sky in the evening, when the Sun goes down, then the Moon is waxing. Every night it will rise a little later in the day and look a little fuller. At Full Moon it will rise almost exactly when the Sun sets. In the northern hemisphere, the waxing moon begins as a crescent on the right hand side of the Moon’s face; in the southern hemisphere, the waxing crescent is illuminated on the left side.