Cool Moon Facts by Whip

Real astronomy and dated history, with sources. Documented traditions and folklore. Modern lunar astrology · symbolic, not predictive.

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)

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