The light that rules the night

What is the moon?

The moon is a giant ball of rock, about a quarter the size of the earth.

The Bible calls the moon “the lesser light." It doesn’t say how the moon is lit, but for thousands of years people have known that the moon doesn’t have any light of its own. Rather, it is lit by the sun. Only the half facing the sun is lit.

According to the book of Genesis (Genesis 1:14–19), God created the moon on Day 4, the same day as the sun. He made them with "signs and seasons" in mind. Every 29 and a half days, the moon goes through all of its phases. Using the term "moon" to refer to this, ancient humans divided the year into months. This made it easier for people to gauge how long the seasons lasted. This was crucial so they could sow their crops at the most advantageous moment. However, a full moon cycle lasts only 354 days, whereas a full moon orbit takes roughly 365 days. We therefore add days to the months on our calendar to make up the shortfall.

The visible forms of the moon are known as phases because they vary on a regular basis. Different areas of the lighted portion of the planet are visible as the moon circles about it. We can view the whole lighted half of the planet if it is nearly between the sun and the moon. When a moon is "full," we say such. We are unable to view much of the moon's lighted side when it is almost between the earth and the sun. Only a tiny crescent form is visible. It is known as a "new" moon. The moon appears as a half-circle when it is halfway between new and full.

The portion of the moon that is lighted is growing in the upper half. We refer to this as waxing. The bottom half depicts the illuminated portion diminishing.

The right side of the moon is illuminated during the waxing phases, and the left side is illuminated during the declining phases. It is the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere. When waxing, the left side is lit, and when waning, the right side is lit.

Tides

The tides are also caused by the moon. You may observe it rising and lowering twice a day if you go near the water. In certain locations, these tides can generate electricity, contributing to the cleanliness of bays and estuaries.

Nearer sections of the earth experience a stronger gravitational pull from the moon than further regions. Due to their liquid nature and ability to flow, the oceans make this more apparent. The oceans bulge in the areas closest and farthest from the moon due to these tidal effects.

The bulges move on the earth due to the daily rotation of the planet. So, those who live close to the ocean take note of high tides. They witness the water level fall to low tide in between. There are two high tides and two low tides each day. However, because the moon is orbiting the earth as well, the cycle is more like every 25 hours rather than exactly daily.

Eclipses

The earth occasionally prevents sunlight from reaching the moon during a full moon. We refer to this as a lunar eclipse. Before Christ, astronomers had observed that the earth's shadow was always round. They therefore concluded that the earth had to be a ball.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon obscures the earth's light. The sun is 400 times larger and 400 times farther away from Earth than the moon as it was created by God. This implies that the sun can be nearly entirely obscured by the moon. This complete eclipse is among the most amazing spectacles in history.

Travelling to the moon

It is 384,404 kilometers (239,000 miles) from the earth to the moon. Yet, 12 men set foot on the moon around half a century ago. The Saturn V rocket, which could reach speeds of 39,400 km/h (24,500 mph) and was the fastest and most powerful vehicle ever constructed, carried them on six separate flights between 1969 and 1972. Even so, the trip took four days!

There is no water, air, or life on the barren moon. There was no way the astronauts could stay more than a few days. They had to return by air to the planet that God created for human habitation.

Evolution can’t explain the moon.

Those who reject Genesis typically assert that the moon originated billions of years ago. The majority claim that billions of years ago, another planet collided with Earth. Massive volumes of rock were blasted away. They say this is what generated the moon. We refer to this as the "giant impact" notion. However, the moon's orbit would not have been altered by an impact. It travels in an almost round orbit.

A unique kind of mirror that functions like a cat's eyes and returns light to its source was left behind by the astronauts. Astronomers can time how long it takes for the light to return by illuminating the mirrors with strong lasers. This indicated that the lunar distance from Earth is increasing at a rate of 4 cm (1½ inches) year. Therefore, the earth and moon would be closer the further back in time you go. The evolutionary "age" of the earth and moon would have been in contact in less than 4.5 billion years! However, the roughly 6,000-year biblical age is much more logical.