my daughter has just come back from jamaica with a photo of a crescent moon but the crescent is at the bottom

Question

she had the camera the right way up..... but surely the sun and moon rise in the east and set in the west.. unless the moon is way off the equatorial plane.. which it isn't.. thanks for answers up to now markb

Answer 1

That makes sense.

If you're on the equator, the sun and moon pass more or less directly overhead each day (although their path varies somewhat with the season).

Jamaica, being in the tropics, comes close to having this view of the sun and moon. So when the sun goes down, it pretty much goes straight (vertically) down below the horizon. By contrast, in most of the U.S., it goes down at an angle (moving from left to right).

If the moon is near the sun in the sky, the Jamaicans will see it go down more or less vertically, shortly after the sun sets, and it will go down in almost the same location. And that means that before it goes down the sun will be illuminating the BOTTOM side of the moon, as you described.

Answer 2

Jamacia is near the equator.
Think about it. In UK the Sun is in the South. It, and the moon move from left to right as you look South. So a waxing cresent would appear like a right hand bracket.

In Australia, the sun is in the north and so moves right to left accross the sky. The moon is the other way up and appears as a left bracket.

Now there has to be a point where right becomes left and this is near the equator. At sunset and sunrise, the moon will appear pointing the tips of its cresent upwards.

In Africa, they call it the 'Bull's Horns'

Answer 3

actuator has given the right answer. South of the equator the angle the sun goes down is also reversed.

Answer 4

What an interesting question! I am intrigued by the answer above, too - can you describe what you mean by the sun going down 'vertically'? I can't get my head round that at all!

Answer 5

She had the camera turned sideways when she took the picture.