[Poll] Can you tell if it is a new moon?

This is a random science-y question. See if you know the answer!

It was an ordinary day of the year on Earth. You and two other friends went camping for the weekend, and all of you drove to a remote location with no cellular reception or Wi-Fi. The idea was to unplug for a few days and experience nature to its fullest.

The first evening, the three of you had fun and played various camping games beside a bonfire.

All of you fell asleep and then woke up in the middle of the night.

By this point, the campfire had completely burned down, and it was extremely dark.

You looked up into the sky and remarked that you could not see the moon.

It was a cloudless night and you could see the Milky Way perfectly well. Since the three of you were so engrossed with your campfire games earlier, none of you can recall what the sky looked like. You also can't remember if there was a moon the previous night/week, or what phase it might have been. Since you live in the city, you aren't in the habit of looking up at the sky regularly.

Friend A laughed and said that obviously it must be a new moon. If it is a new moon, you can't see it.

Friend B stubbornly rejected that conclusion and said that the moon must be on the other side of the Earth, and it must have fallen below the horizon at some point.

They get in an argument about which it is... and you're not sure who to believe.
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1. Which one of your friends is right? How do you know?

2. Can you ever see the moon during the day?

3. Does the moon rise and fall? Does it move faster or slower than the sun across the sky?

4. How many times in a year does the moon pass in between the Earth and the Sun? Why isn't there a solar or lunar eclipse every time that this happens?

5. Suppose that it is the "new moon" and you have a powerful telescope that is capable of picking up the dimmest reflected light. Can you find the moon with your telescope on the evening of a "new moon"?

6. Can you see the dark side of the moon from the surface of the Earth?

 

Yes, you can see the moon during the day. Not always, but it happens often. I used to know the science behind it, but I don’t remember the exact reason why anymore.

And I’ve generally been able to see the new moon in the sky. Even though it’s dark, it’s still lighter than the surrounding darkness of the rest of the sky.

No, you cannot see the other side of the moon from Earth. But as I said in the previous paragraph, you can see it even when it’s dark. It’s just, you’re still seeing the same side.

 

umu. i regularly check the moons phase?

i rarely see anything but a blur without squinting,major glasses glare yanno

theres daytime moon and nighttime moon

 

1. Which one of your friends is right? How do you know?
Friend A, it is a new moon.
2. Can you ever see the moon during the day?
yes, I can see the moon during the day a few times, usually at morning.
3. Does the moon rise and fall? Does it move faster or slower than the sun across the sky?
I think yes, it does rise and fall. you can clearly see at full moon but it seems to move slower than the sun.
4. How many times in a year does the moon pass in between the Earth and the Sun? Why isn't there a solar or lunar eclipse every time that this happens?
Hmmm... I forget the science about it. I believe there is something to do with the angle
5. Suppose that it is the "new moon" and you have a powerful telescope that is capable of picking up the dimmest reflected light. Can you find the moon with your telescope on the evening of a "new moon"?
No, I can't find it. It's just like looking for a strand of white hair in the night sky. That would be difficult and my eyesight is not perfect.
6. Can you see the dark side of the moon from the surface of the Earth?
I believe I can't see the dark side of the moon since we always see the same side.

 

1. Which one of your friends is right? How do you know?
The moon is below the horizon. If it were fully a new moon, the moon would be between the sun and the earth. In order to see it, both the sun and the moon are above the horizon, so it'd have to be daytime. That'd be a total solar eclipse, not the middle of the night in the story.

2. Can you ever see the moon during the day?
Uh, yes. Often. Look for it sometime.

3. Does the moon rise and fall? Does it move faster or slower than the sun across the sky?
Yes, the rising and falling is driven mostly by the earth's rotation. It "moves" slower than the sun across the sky. The moon "rises" above the horizon almost an hour later each day.

4. How many times in a year does the moon pass in between the Earth and the Sun? Why isn't there a solar or lunar eclipse every time that this happens?
About 12 times, hence the lunar calendar of 12-ish months. The plane of the moon's orbit around the earth is tilted relative to the earth's orbit around the sun, by a few degrees. So only when the two cycles line up do we get eclipses.

5. Suppose that it is the "new moon" and you have a powerful telescope that is capable of picking up the dimmest reflected light. Can you find the moon with your telescope on the evening of a "new moon"?
You'd usually see the sun's light spilling around one edge or another, because things don't usually lie up perfectly to be completely dark. And when they do line up perfectly you get spectacular eclipse pictures visible with even cheap telescopes.

6. Can you see the dark side of the moon from the surface of the Earth?
The "dark side" isn't dark as in lacking sunlight, it's the side that faces away from Earth. The moon is tidally locked to Earth, so the same side always faces us. So it's impossible to directly view the dark side from Earth's surface.

Edit: I don't vote in polls on NU, but vote for Friend B alone being right if you find my answer here convincing.

 

Honestly, with these eagle eyes of mine, I'd probably be able to pick out the shadow of the moon over the stars it's covering, so if I can't see that then it's probably below the horizon. I know where to find the moon in the sky depending on the time of year, since it varies a decent amount due to my latitude, and would just have to look closely at that part of the sky to see it. Also, the moon is actually lit up slightly on the dark side sometimes, and I can remember some times growing up when the moon was lit up slightly on its dark side for some reason.

 

1) I have no clue who is right and I have no way of determining it. Though I remember nights in which I was unable to see the moon even though it wasn't new moon (it could be hidden by a mountain or whatever), so I think we shouldn't necessarily assume it's new moon just because we can't see the moon.

2) Aye! I saw it more than a few times! I think it depends on the season or something, but it's definitely something that happened plenty of times for me~

3) No clue! I mean, it does rise and fall, but I have 0 clue about its speed.

4) Oooooh, mystery question, I dunno!

5) Absolutely not!

6) No clue! I think not though!

 

My watch calendar shows the moon phase, so I don't need to look that up online.

I'm sure one of the numerous apps on my phone could tell me where the moon is in the sky without needing cellular reception or WiFi.

 

1. Which one of your friends is right? How do you know?
I don't know. I'm not knowledgable about the moon.

2. Can you ever see the moon during the day?
Yes. Sometimes.

3. Does the moon rise and fall? Does it move faster or slower than the sun across the sky?
Maybe?

4. How many times in a year does the moon pass in between the Earth and the Sun? Why isn't there a solar or lunar eclipse every time that this happens?
I don't know.

5. Suppose that it is the "new moon" and you have a powerful telescope that is capable of picking up the dimmest reflected light. Can you find the moon with your telescope on the evening of a "new moon"?
Perhaps?

6. Can you see the dark side of the moon from the surface of the Earth?
I can't. But how about other people?