The Yule Moon
Should ‘nature on the hoof’ really consider writing about the moon? Well, I looked it up and the word ‘nature’ refers to ‘the natural, physical, material world or universe’. So, here we go..
Sadly, one of the biggest reasons mankind wanted to get to the moon at all was to gain some advantage in an arms race between two great powers, Russia and America. They both saw it as a very strategic site.
The Americans wanted to detonate a nuclear device there in the 50’s. This was known as ‘Project A119’, but it was the Russians who got closest first.
In 1959 the Luna 1 passed within a mere 5995km of the moon’s surface before going on to orbit the Sun.
Man didn’t get there in person until 1969 when Neil Armstrong uttered those slightly misquoted words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." It isn’t properly heard on recordings from the time but Armstrong states he actually said ‘one small step for a man’. Only eleven other men have stood on the moon’s dusty surface since then. Perhaps the next person to set foot there will be a woman.
The moon, about the size of Australia, was created around the same time as earth, about 4.6 billion years ago. It’s now thought to be part of our planet, knocked out into orbit after some cataclysmic collision. It has no atmosphere, so you wouldn’t be able to hear any sound unaided up there. It’s also thought to have a molten core like Earth.
It’s 384,400km away from Earth just now but is actually slipping further away from us by a margin of 3.8cm every year. Over time it may have less of a pull on our oceans and as a result our tides may become less extreme.
Earth also has a gravitational effect on the moon, causing moonquakes below its surface. These in turn have lead to ruptures and cracks on the moon’s surface. So, in some ways, we are still connected to our brightest satellite.
We, of course, see the moon differently all the time as sunlight strikes it from afar. It’s a bit like holding someone’s face towards you while you stand on a revolving chair with a strong light blasting from behind. You will only ever see the other person’s face but the amount of light on that face will grow and reduce depending on the angle. We never get to see the dark side of the moon in light or shade.
The stages of the moon are as follows: new moon - waxing crescent - first quarter - waxing gibbous - full moon - waning gibbous to last quarter to waning crescent.
I saw the Yule Moon this year with a full rainbow halo. That rainbow effect was caused by ice crystals high up in some wispy cirrus clouds but it gave the moon a truly mysterious aura. People through time have also looked up in wonder at the moon.
Full moon fever is often blamed for all sorts of happenings from sleepwalking to unusual behaviour or even people transforming into werewolves... the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna, is said to ride a silver chariot across the sky every night, and the words ‘lunatic’ and ‘lunacy’ both derive from her name. In the 1700’s, if you were tried for murder in England and it happened on a full moon you could plead for a more lenient sentence on the grounds of lunacy...
Full Moon Fever
Some people even think there are aliens on the moon... Even now, in these COVID 19 days, there are all sorts of conspiracy theories out there. One of the most prominent extollers of such beliefs was a man who lived about 160 years ago. A British composer and astronomer, he wrote of complex constructions and stunning cities on the moon. My favourite fantasy on this theme is the movie - ‘First Men on the Moon’. Released in 1964, Lionel Jeffries is brilliant as the nutty professor who finds a giant ant-like colony under the moon surface.
Many civilisations think that the moon controls fertility. Perhaps as a result of the menstrual cycle matching up in days with the moon’s own cycle. This may explain why many peoples of the past portrayed their moon deity as female. The Greeks had Selene who became Artemis while the Romans had Luna who became Diana. But the link to our moon hasn’t really gone away. It’s importance is still prevalent in some of our current religions. Christians celebrate Easter on the Sunday after the first full moon that follows the Spring Equinox. The Jewish faith always has the Passover on a full moon - and the Hindu religion has its Festival of Lights, Diwali, on the new moon after the Sun enters Libra.
Many animals and birds are also thought to be influenced by the moon. Apart from the obvious ebb and flow of the tides and their effect on shore life, many birds are said to use the moon for migration. Other animals time their reproduction to coincide with different phases of the moon. Dung beetles have been shown to use polarising moonlight to roll their precious dung balls in straight lines.
Dung Beetle
How about this one to finish up with - a species of Mediterranean plant, The Joint Pine, produces liquid that reflects moonlight to lure insects. It’s been shown that these natural little mirror-balls can increase the uptake of pollen. Ingenious.