by Ann » Sun Aug 22, 2010 4:50 am
The Moon is full of craters, and those craters must have been created at one time or another. If there was a substantial impact on the Moon, particularly if it happened when the Moon looked like a thin crescent, and the impact affected the illuminated part, then it is not unreasonable that the Moon might look as if it had been split.
But as far as I know, astronomers have not found the largish crater that ought to stick out like a sore thumb if it was created in the twelfth century (some 800 years ago - bear in mind that most craters on the moon are millions or even billion years old). Until the crater is found, I'm going to regard the story as a product of a time consumed by religious fantasies and stories about the coming end of the world. Such as our own time, that is! No, the difference is that if an event like the one described had happened in our own time it would almost certainly have been recorded by one amateur astronomer or another. And if not, at least NASA should have been able to ascertain whether or not there was a substantial brand new crater on the Moon.
Ann
The Moon is full of craters, and those craters must have been created at one time or another. If there was a substantial impact on the Moon, particularly if it happened when the Moon looked like a thin crescent, and the impact affected the illuminated part, then it is not unreasonable that the Moon might look as if it had been split.
But as far as I know, astronomers have not found the largish crater that ought to stick out like a sore thumb if it was created in the twelfth century (some 800 years ago - bear in mind that most craters on the moon are millions or even billion years old). Until the crater is found, I'm going to regard the story as a product of a time consumed by religious fantasies and stories about the coming end of the world. Such as our own time, that is! No, the difference is that if an event like the one described had happened in our own time it would almost certainly have been recorded by one amateur astronomer or another. And if not, at least NASA should have been able to ascertain whether or not there was a substantial brand new crater on the Moon.
Ann