Post by Valandil on Apr 26, 2007 5:04:11 GMT
Alright - before streetlights, headlights, etc, when traveling at night, the most important thing was probably what phase the moon was in. First, I'll quote something I posted on our previous site:
OK - a little post here to demonstrate to everyone just HOW geeky I am:
When I was starting to write "Visitors Come to Court" - it was important to me that a certain event happen on a Full Moon. This is in December, 1004 TA, btw. OK - so I looked up when the Full Moon happened in LOTR (there's mention of one right about when Frodo, Sam and Gollum are at the Crossroads I think) - I found the cycle of Full Moons to 10 places after the decimal (uh... it's 29.5305888531 days, if you're REALLY interested - and it gives me 12 significant digits) - then figured out how many days from 1004 to 3019 (including all the leap year adjustments) and then worked it out on the calender (the Numenorean one, of course) - that there would be a Full Moon on December 16th of 1004.
OK - so today I was a little lazier, so I went the shorter distance. If there was a Full Moon on December 16, 1004 - then I found out there was to be one on November 19, 1346 - and because of how that rounded, I decided on October 19 and September 20th for the two before. That would put the previous New Moon at about October 4 or 5.
Based on this, I will generate some dates for the New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Third Quarter in the posts to follow. The intervals between each are about 7-8 days. Between those, it's at intermediate stages. You can use this to help plan - for whenever your characters need to be out after dark. Remember:
New Moon - the moon pretty much rides with the sun, and is virtually invisible. It rises with the sun in the morning, and sets with the sun in the evening. The nights are very dark at a New Moon - with only the stars for light.
First Quarter - at sunset, the moon is at its zenith, high up in the sky, with the half toward the sun (the "west" side, as viewed from earth) lit up. It's fairly bright, but not nearly like a Full Moon. The moon sets around midnight, and then it gets a lot darker.
Full Moon - the moon rises at sunset, and sets an sunrise. It is very bright and gives a lot of light, the whole night long.
Third Quarter - the night is at its darkest until midnight, when the moon rises. The "east" side of the moon is lit up, when viewed from earth. It's not as bright as a Full Moon, but still gives some light for the rest of the night.
OK - a little post here to demonstrate to everyone just HOW geeky I am:
When I was starting to write "Visitors Come to Court" - it was important to me that a certain event happen on a Full Moon. This is in December, 1004 TA, btw. OK - so I looked up when the Full Moon happened in LOTR (there's mention of one right about when Frodo, Sam and Gollum are at the Crossroads I think) - I found the cycle of Full Moons to 10 places after the decimal (uh... it's 29.5305888531 days, if you're REALLY interested - and it gives me 12 significant digits) - then figured out how many days from 1004 to 3019 (including all the leap year adjustments) and then worked it out on the calender (the Numenorean one, of course) - that there would be a Full Moon on December 16th of 1004.
OK - so today I was a little lazier, so I went the shorter distance. If there was a Full Moon on December 16, 1004 - then I found out there was to be one on November 19, 1346 - and because of how that rounded, I decided on October 19 and September 20th for the two before. That would put the previous New Moon at about October 4 or 5.
Based on this, I will generate some dates for the New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Third Quarter in the posts to follow. The intervals between each are about 7-8 days. Between those, it's at intermediate stages. You can use this to help plan - for whenever your characters need to be out after dark. Remember:
New Moon - the moon pretty much rides with the sun, and is virtually invisible. It rises with the sun in the morning, and sets with the sun in the evening. The nights are very dark at a New Moon - with only the stars for light.
First Quarter - at sunset, the moon is at its zenith, high up in the sky, with the half toward the sun (the "west" side, as viewed from earth) lit up. It's fairly bright, but not nearly like a Full Moon. The moon sets around midnight, and then it gets a lot darker.
Full Moon - the moon rises at sunset, and sets an sunrise. It is very bright and gives a lot of light, the whole night long.
Third Quarter - the night is at its darkest until midnight, when the moon rises. The "east" side of the moon is lit up, when viewed from earth. It's not as bright as a Full Moon, but still gives some light for the rest of the night.
