Writing Tip: When is the Moon Overhead?

How many times have you read a poetic description of a crescent moon high overhead at midnight, shining down on a lover's tryst or a detective's midnight foray?

Have you ever seen a crescent moon high overhead at midnight? No. That's because it doesn't happen.

The moon rises and sets at specific times, according to what phase it is in. Usually, the moon is described as having four phases (see graphic):

• The new (or dark) moon is when the moon is in the shadow of the Earth. No sunlight reflects from it. On a calendar, this is usually shown as a black circle.
• The waxing, or first quarter moon, is a crescent moon. The lit side of the moon is on the right, as you are looking at it. On a calendar, it is shown as a crescent with the horns pointing left.
• The full moon is round. The full light of the sun is reflecting from it. On a calendar, it is shown as a white circle.
• The waning, or last quarter moon, is also a crescent moon. The lit side of the moon is on the left, as you are looking at it. On a calendar, it is shown as a crescent with the horns pointing right.
Each of these moon cycles dances with the sun as follows:
• The new/dark moon rises and sets at approximately the same time as the sun. If it was in the sky at night, it wouldn't be visible anyway, since it is dark! Extra tidbit: Solar eclipses only happen during a new/dark moon, when the otherwise invisible moon crosses between the earth and the sun.
• The waxing/first quarter moon rises at mid-morning and sets at midnight. So it's at its height around dusk, not in the middle of the night.
• The full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. The full moon is the only moon that will be overhead in the middle of the night. Extra tidbit: Lunar eclipses only happen during a full moon, when the moon passes through the earth's shadow.
• The waning/last quarter moon rises at midnight and sets at mid-morning. So unless you're a late-owl, you've probably never even seen this moon.

When you are writing, you want to strive for authenticity in as much as possible. There are many places online where you can find out the dates of the moon phases for any year, as well as the sun's rising and setting times. My favorite for sun rise/set and moon rise/set is the U.S. Navy's "Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year". The U.S. Navy also offers 10 years of moon phase tables at their Phases of the Moon page. If you print out any year's data, you can easily see the correlation I've made above.