Folklore is not foolproof

By Joe Murgo

Q:How can one tell when it is the “dark of the moon”? My grandfather told us to put shingles on the house at that time. I need a new roof soon and want to plan when to do the job.

Shirley

A:Once again, I learn by researching an answer to a question. I never heard of the

phrase “dark of the moon” other than in the title of a play or movie.

My first assumption was that what your grandfather meant it to be the time when the moon is in the phase of new moon. This means that the moon is between the Earth and the sun.

In that position, the lit side of the moon is facing away from view, while the dark side of the moon is facing toward us.

This part of the moon is too dark to see and leaves us with what appears to be a moonless sky. Though as I mentioned, I learn new things in this column, and there is a semi-official time known as the “dark of the moon”.

It refers not only to when the moon is not present in the sky, but

includes the three days preceding the disappearance of the visible moon.

As for correlating the weather to this stretch of time, it’s not as clear. I’ve never heard of that folklore before, and I hate to contradict your grandfather, but that’s really not one that makes much meteorological sense.

While there are some hypotheses that state the moon’s gravitational pull can enhance some weather patterns, there is nothing that has been proven.

And any of the believed changes would not hold true in this case of roofing. There is nothing about the moon that would cause such a significant enough change in the weather, or anything else similar, that would affect the shingles on your roof. If you ask me, I would just worry about rain.

Though many proverbs usually have a bit of truth in them and I tried hard to figure out something.

The only correlation that I can figure in this case would be if you are in a pattern that is good for the viewing of the moon.

If there is a string of clear nights, it often means that an area of high pressure is sitting over the region. Under an area of high pressure, not only are we prone to not having rainfall, but winds are usually quite light. The combination of these two would be great in getting a roof done without any problems.

Q:One morning, when I was coming into work at 5:30, the moon was positioned in the eastern sky. I thought that it sets in the west. I know it was still a few hours before the sun comes up, but shouldn’t the moon be further in the western horizon.

LeeAnn

A:Like the sun, the moon does rise in the east and set in the west; therefore, what you saw was a rising moon.

While we usually notice the moon at night, it doesn’t always rise as the sun sets and then set by morning.

The time of moonrise depends on its position as it revolves around the earth. At the time of the question, we were heading to a new moon, which means that the moon is on the sun’s side of sky.

This leaves a moonrise during the morning hours with the moon actually visible for a while during the daylight hours. When we get to the full moon, it will be rising during the evening again.

If you have a question about the weather, you can write to Joe Murgo at 5000 6th Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 or e-mail him at murgo@wtajtv.com.

Some questions will be answered here and all of the questions will be entered in a contest to be shown on WTAJ News at 5pm.