5 December 1872
Waxing Crescent, 30% lit
The Mary Celeste
A ship was found sailing along under a thin crescent with her cargo intact, six months of food aboard, and nobody on her.
The lifeboat was gone and so were the chronometer and the ship's papers, which suggests an orderly departure rather than a mystery. The most likely explanation is a feared explosion from leaking alcohol cargo, but nobody has ever proved it.
- Date
- 5 December 1872
- Moon computed for
- 15:00 local time, UTC−1:08
- Phase
- Waxing Crescent
- Illuminated
- 30%
Source: Vice-Admiralty Court, Gibraltar (1873)