![]() ![]() Around this time, the phase angle is very low (reaching zero during eclipses). This means the Moon rises with the Sun at dawn, which we call New Moon. When the Moon appears close to the Sun in the sky, the side facing the Sun is illuminated, but not the side we see. In terms of mathematics, as the Moon orbits the Earth, its angle between the Earth and the Sun changes. How much of the lit side we see on Earth depends on where the Moon is in relation to the Sun and Earth - what we can call its phase angle. They explain that the best time to fish is during first and third quarter Moons, as these tides are foretold in the Moon 5. The main reason is that the stronger spring tides stir up the sediment, clouding the water, thus reducing the ability for fish to see the fisher’s lures, or the fishers to spot the fish. Elders explain that they prefer to fish during a neap tide rather than a spring tide. For example, Torres Strait Islanders observe the lunar phases to know the best times to go fishing. This knowledge informs hunting, fishing, and agricultural practices 4. ![]() For example, the word “Meb” in the Meriam Mir language of the eastern Torres Strait means both Moon and month, explaining how the Moon completes a cycle over the course of a month 3.Ĭoastal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people linked lunar phases to the different tides and incorporated this into their knowledge systems. In Many Aboriginal and Islander cultures, the words for ‘month’ and ‘Moon’ are the same, or closely linked. Therefore, a “year” on the Moon is a month. The Moon completes one revolution around Earth with respect to the Sun every 29.5 days. Traditions describe how the cycle of the Moon is linked to time. This tradition not only explains why more of the Moon’s surface it lit as it waxes to Full Moon, but that the light we see on the Moon is reflected sunlight. Eventually she was on the opposite side of him in the sky, fully lit (Full Moon). He illuminated more of her each night to encourage her to catch up (waxing Moon). They rose into the sky together on the first day, but the Sun Man was faster than his wife, and she began to gradually fall behind. A Palawa Creation story tells about about the Sun Man and Moon Woman. In Tasmania, Aboriginal people see this the other way around. He eventually dies for three days (New Moon) before resurrecting as a crescent (waxing Moon), growing again until full. In retribution, his wives attack him, carving his body with their axes, causing him to wane away. Anger drives him to kill his sons as punishment for not sharing their food. When the water drains out, there is a corresponding ebb in the tides. This causes him to grow as he rises becoming full at high tide. Yolngu traditions describe water filling Ngalindi as he rises, becoming full at high tide 2. In Yolngu traditions of coastal Arnhem Land, Ngalindi is the Moon-man. ![]() In many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions, the Moon is generally viewed as masculine whilst the Sun is generally feminine 1. ![]()
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