Re: Appearance of Red Moon

From: Mikko Rintasaari <mikrin_at_...>
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 11:41:42 +0300 (EEST)

On Sat, 12 Apr 2003, S. Ben Melhuish wrote: <snip>
> Is this how other folk envision the Moon?
>
> (The other vision of the Moon might be one that would be all red, or
> all black, at the same time, regardless of the observer's location. In
> some ways I like this idea more, though it's a little more "magical"
> and less grounded in 21st-century reality and thus a little harder to
> fully wrap my brain around.)

I was really disappointed with the rotating-source-of-darkness Red Moon explanation. I don't like my Glorantha cheapened by pseudo-science explanations. [just an opinion guys]

I like my Glorantha flat (not just called flat, with a normal horizon) and my red moon in 7 phases. The source of darkness version is so wierd. We can see from the phases that the moon spends more time dark as it does light, and if se have the rotating (small) source of darkness, we get the opposite. (think of a pinpoint lightsource fairly close to a globe, then reverse the light/dark)

But that's not all. The red moon is above, it's not seen from the side. For people looking up to it, the moon would never actually turn fully dark. For the people in Glamour the moon would be a constant halfmoon, turning above. The further you moved from the crater, the closer you would get to the expected phases, but until you get an infinite distance away (or wiev it from the same hight as the moon) you would never see the phases you get from seeing it from the side.

So. Personally I like the moon to be seen in the same phase regardless of where the observer is standing. So in my vision the moon is pulsing, not turning.

There's a neat optical illusion:

http://www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/mir3dopilgen.html

I use as an "explanation" for the moon. Basically the inside of the crater is also the surface of the red moon that can be seen. The inside is both suspended in the middle-air and inside the crater. The apparent contradiction and illusionary reality here seems more apt for the Red Goddess than a trillion tons of actual physical rock levitating above the crater.

Anyway, that's my view.

[Of course there is the silver shadow satrapy. Obviously there _is_ something strange going on there. If one wants one can see that as the place where the moon really is always a halfmoon rotating above. Many other possibilities too. Anyway it can be, in a way, an inspiration for the temples of the reaching moon. Parhaps this close to the crater the Lunar magic was always reliable even before the TRM's. If one likes the rotating moon, then the permanent halfmoon of course fit's here quite well too.]

        -Adept