Moon Notes

Most nights I forget the moon is there, but every once in a while it winks out from behind a cloud, and I marvel at this part of God’s good creation.

The Bible and science tell us the moon was created after the earth. Genesis describes the moon as a “lesser light to rule the night” that was created on the fourth day. Scientists have several theories of how this happened, but all suggest something (or many things) very large struck the earth and “flung enough molten and vaporized debris into space,” resulting in the Moon. (science.nasa.gov/moon/formation).

However God did it, I am glad it was created! Not only does the moon reflect the sun's light, it causes the tides, protects us from meteors, and is a sign to some animals for movement and breeding.

Light in the Darkness

The moon does not make its own light, but reflects the sun's rays. As it circles the earth, we see it as a sliver of light, a football shape, a semicircle, and finally a circle. These are called the phases of the moon.

Even when you see only part of it, get some binoculars and take a closer look. You can see the whole moon, but part of it is hidden in shadow.

The nights we are not able to see the moon are called the new moon phase. In the Old Testament the New Moon Festival marked the beginning of each month with worship, offerings, and renewal.

Moon Guide

Sandhoppers are tiny crustaceans that live on ocean beaches. With rising and lowering tides (also caused by the moon) they can easily get stranded and dry out. Experiments reported in Nature show sandhoppers move up and down the beach based on phases of the moon, using their antennae to face the right direction. This helps them keep track of the waterline.

Coral spawn once a year, following a full moon. Scientists are unclear how this happens, but studies suggest that spawning is triggered by the period of darkness from sunset to moonrise, which changes with the moon's phases.

The Dark Side

Since the moon rotates on its axis at a similar rate to how fast it circles the earth (called tidal locking) we only see one side of the moon. In April 2026 the spacecraft Artemis II did a lunar fly-by, and the four astronauts on board saw the side of the moon that no human eyes have ever seen. On that mission, the astronauts spent Easter looking at Earth and the moon from their spaceship.

“When I read the Bible and I look at all the amazing things that were done for us,” astronaut Victor Glover said, “… you’re on a spaceship called Earth that was created to give us a place to live in the universe and the cosmos.”