Festival Moon Cake Adalah

Illumination and phases

Half of the Moon's surface is always illuminated by the Sun (except during a lunar eclipse). Earth also reflects light onto the Moon, observable at times as Earthlight when it is reflected back to Earth from areas of the near side of the Moon that are not illuminated by the Sun.

Since the Moon's axial tilt with respect to the ecliptic is 1.5427°, in every draconic year (346.62 days) the Sun moves from being 1.5427° north of the lunar equator to being 1.5427° south of it and then back, just as on Earth the Sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn and back once every tropical year. The poles of the Moon are therefore in the dark for half a draconic year (or with only part of the Sun visible) and then lit for half a draconic year. The amount of sunlight falling on horizontal areas near the poles depends on the altitude angle of the Sun. But these "seasons" have little effect in more equatorial areas.

With the different positions of the Moon, different areas of it are illuminated by the Sun. This illumination of different lunar areas, as viewed from Earth, produces the different lunar phases during the synodic month. The phase is equal to the area of the visible lunar sphere that is illuminated by the Sun. This area or degree of illumination is given by ( 1 − cos ⁡ e ) / 2 = sin 2 ⁡ ( e / 2 ) {\displaystyle (1-\cos e)/2=\sin ^{2}(e/2)} , where e {\displaystyle e} is the elongation (i.e., the angle between Moon, the observer on Earth, and the Sun).

Brightness and apparent size of the Moon changes also due to its elliptic orbit around Earth. At perigee (closest), since the Moon is up to 14% closer to Earth than at apogee (most distant), it subtends a solid angle which is up to 30% larger. Consequently, given the same phase, the Moon's brightness also varies by up to 30% between apogee and perigee.[207] A full (or new) moon at such a position is called a supermoon.[201][202][208]

There has been historical controversy over whether observed features on the Moon's surface change over time. Today, many of these claims are thought to be illusory, resulting from observation under different lighting conditions, poor astronomical seeing, or inadequate drawings. However, outgassing does occasionally occur and could be responsible for a minor percentage of the reported lunar transient phenomena. Recently, it has been suggested that a roughly 3 km (1.9 mi) diameter region of the lunar surface was modified by a gas release event about a million years ago.[209][210]

The Moon has an exceptionally low albedo, giving it a reflectance that is slightly brighter than that of worn asphalt. Despite this, it is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun.[72][j] This is due partly to the brightness enhancement of the opposition surge; the Moon at quarter phase is only one-tenth as bright, rather than half as bright, as at full moon.[211] Additionally, color constancy in the visual system recalibrates the relations between the colors of an object and its surroundings, and because the surrounding sky is comparatively dark, the sunlit Moon is perceived as a bright object. The edges of the full moon seem as bright as the center, without limb darkening, because of the reflective properties of lunar soil, which retroreflects light more towards the Sun than in other directions. The Moon's color depends on the light the Moon reflects, which in turn depends on the Moon's surface and its features, having for example large darker regions. In general the lunar surface reflects a brown-tinged gray light.[212]

At times, the Moon can appear red or blue. It may appear red during a lunar eclipse, because of the red spectrum of the Sun's light being refracted onto the Moon by Earth's atmosphere. Because of this red color, lunar eclipses are also sometimes called blood moons. The Moon can also seem red when it appears at low angles and through a thick atmosphere.

The Moon may appear blue depending on the presence of certain particles in the air,[212] such as volcanic particles,[213] in which case it can be called a blue moon.

Because the words "red moon" and "blue moon" can also be used to refer to specific full moons of the year, they do not always refer to the presence of red or blue moonlight.

Eclipses only occur when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are all in a straight line (termed "syzygy"). Solar eclipses occur at new moon, when the Moon is between the Sun and Earth. In contrast, lunar eclipses occur at full moon, when Earth is between the Sun and Moon. The apparent size of the Moon is roughly the same as that of the Sun, with both being viewed at close to one-half a degree wide. The Sun is much larger than the Moon but it is the vastly greater distance that gives it the same apparent size as the much closer and much smaller Moon from the perspective of Earth. The variations in apparent size, due to the non-circular orbits, are nearly the same as well, though occurring in different cycles. This makes possible both total (with the Moon appearing larger than the Sun) and annular (with the Moon appearing smaller than the Sun) solar eclipses.[214] In a total eclipse, the Moon completely covers the disc of the Sun and the solar corona becomes visible to the naked eye.

Because the distance between the Moon and Earth is very slowly increasing over time,[185] the angular diameter of the Moon is decreasing. As it evolves toward becoming a red giant, the size of the Sun, and its apparent diameter in the sky, are slowly increasing.[k] The combination of these two changes means that hundreds of millions of years ago, the Moon would always completely cover the Sun on solar eclipses, and no annular eclipses were possible. Likewise, hundreds of millions of years in the future, the Moon will no longer cover the Sun completely, and total solar eclipses will not occur.[215]

As the Moon's orbit around Earth is inclined by about 5.145° (5° 9') to the orbit of Earth around the Sun, eclipses do not occur at every full and new moon. For an eclipse to occur, the Moon must be near the intersection of the two orbital planes.[216] The periodicity and recurrence of eclipses of the Sun by the Moon, and of the Moon by Earth, is described by the saros, which has a period of approximately 18 years.[217]

Because the Moon continuously blocks the view of a half-degree-wide circular area of the sky,[l][218] the related phenomenon of occultation occurs when a bright star or planet passes behind the Moon and is occulted: hidden from view. In this way, a solar eclipse is an occultation of the Sun. Because the Moon is comparatively close to Earth, occultations of individual stars are not visible everywhere on the planet, nor at the same time. Because of the precession of the lunar orbit, each year different stars are occulted.[219]

Mid-Autumn Festival Stories

There are many legends about Mid-Autumn Festival. The most popular stories are about Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit.

Want to share the Mid-Autumn Festival story with your family? The 3-minute video below will show you all about it.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is associated with the popular legend of Chang'e (嫦娥), the goddess of the moon, and Hou Yi, the husband of Chang'e. He was rewarded with an elixir of immortality by the Queen Mother when he shot down nine of the ten suns and saved people from their smoldering heat. In Chinese folklore, he did not drink it straight away because he did not want to gain immortality without his wife. So, he asked Chang'e to keep it safe for him.

Unexpectedly one mid-autumn day, while Houyi was out hunting, an evil person tried to force Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e swallowed the elixir however and flew higher and higher. She then chose the moon as her immortal abode, to be close to her beloved husband and look down on him on Earth. Hou Yi was very sad and made sacrifices to Chang'e with incense, cakes, and fruits.

Legend has it that there is a rabbit companion with Chang'e on the moon, white as jade, so it is called 'jade rabbit'. As time passed, the jade rabbit became synonymous with the moon in Chinese culture.

The custom of worshiping the moon on Mid-Autumn day has been passed down from generation to generation.

Cartographic resources

Friends!! Here it is – the Nanaimo Bar Cake. I’ve been thinking about it ever since discovering Deirdre’s epic multi-tiered creation at Sweet Relief Bakery in Calgary (I put it on the 25 Best Things to Eat list in Avenue Magazine back in 2020!) and finally decided to attempt a more streamlined version at home. It turned out wonderfully-I love cakes this size, and recipes that make two, so you can give one away or tuck it into the freezer for another day. These will freeze beautifully. Enjoy!!

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown)

1 large egg or 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup warm water or coffee

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 Tbsp white or cider vinegar

1 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup custard powder (such as Bird’s)

4 cups icing sugar, plus extra

1/4-1/3 cup cream or coconut milk

1 1/3 cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (8 oz/225 g)

1 cup whipping cream or coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two 8x4-inch loaf pans with parchment.

In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter, cocoa, sugar and egg. Stir in the graham crumbs, coconut and nuts. Divide the mixture between the pans and press evenly into the bottom. (I find this easier with dampened hands.)

In the same bowl (no need to wash it) whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or measuring cup, stir together the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until well blended. Divide between the pans, pouring over the Nanaimo bar base.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until puffed, cracked and springy to the touch. Cool completely while you make the frosting.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, then add the custard powder, sugar and 1/4 cup of the cream and beat until you have a fluffy frosting, adding a bit more cream (or even a tablespoon of water) if needed. Once the cakes have cooled completely, spread with the frosting and put into the fridge until it firms up a bit.

To make the ganache, put the chocolate into a bowl, warm the cream to steaming on the stovetop or in the microwave and pour it over the chocolate, and let it sit for a few minutes. Whisk until well blended and smooth—it will appear broken at first, but then will turn darker and have a smoother, more even consistency. Set aside for 20-30 minutes, so that it firms a bit and isn’t so warm that it will melt the frosting, then pour or spread over each cake. Let sit until the ganache sets. Makes 2 cakes; serves about 16.

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown)

1 large egg or 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup warm water or coffee

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

1 Tbsp white or cider vinegar

1 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup custard powder (such as Bird’s)

4 cups icing sugar, plus extra

1/4-1/3 cup cream or coconut milk

1 1/3 cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (8 oz/225 g)

1 cup whipping cream or coconut milk

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two 8x4-inch loaf pans with parchment.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until puffed, cracked and springy to the touch. Cool completely while you make the frosting.

History of exploration and human presence

Appreciating the Moon

The full moon is the symbol of family reunions in Chinese culture. It is said, sentimentally, that "the moon on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival is the brightest and the most beautiful".

Chinese people usually set a table outside their houses and sit together to admire the full moon while enjoying tasty mooncakes. Parents with little kids often tell the legend of Chang'e Flying to the Moon. As a game, kids try their best to find the shape of Chang'e on the moon.

There are many Chinese poems praising the beauties of the moon and expressing people's longing for their friends and families at Mid-Autumn.

How People Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

As the second most important festival in China, Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) is celebrated in many traditional ways. Here are some of the most popular traditional celebrations.

Mooncake Festival in Singapore

People can enjoy the traditional Chinese lanterns on show in Chinatown, wander around Gardens by the Bay to enjoy its exhibition of Chinese lanterns, or watch a staged performance of the traditional story of Chang'e at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. See more information about Mooncake Festival in Singapore.

Lunar geologic timescale

Millions of years before present

The lunar geological periods are named after their characteristic features, from most impact craters outside the dark mare, to the mare and later craters, and finally the young, still bright and therefore readily visible craters with ray systems like Copernicus or Tycho.

Isotope dating of lunar samples suggests the Moon formed around 50 million years after the origin of the Solar System.[36][37] Historically, several formation mechanisms have been proposed,[38] but none satisfactorily explains the features of the Earth–Moon system. A fission of the Moon from Earth's crust through centrifugal force[39] would require too great an initial rotation rate of Earth.[40] Gravitational capture of a pre-formed Moon[41] depends on an unfeasibly extended atmosphere of Earth to dissipate the energy of the passing Moon.[40] A co-formation of Earth and the Moon together in the primordial accretion disk does not explain the depletion of metals in the Moon.[40] None of these hypotheses can account for the high angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system.[42]

The prevailing theory is that the Earth–Moon system formed after a giant impact of a Mars-sized body (named Theia) with the proto-Earth. The oblique impact blasted material into orbit about the Earth and the material accreted and formed the Moon[43][44] just beyond the Earth's Roche limit of ~2.56 R🜨.[45]

Giant impacts are thought to have been common in the early Solar System. Computer simulations of giant impacts have produced results that are consistent with the mass of the lunar core and the angular momentum of the Earth–Moon system. These simulations show that most of the Moon derived from the impactor, rather than the proto-Earth.[46] However, models from 2007 and later suggest a larger fraction of the Moon derived from the proto-Earth.[47][48][49][50] Other bodies of the inner Solar System such as Mars and Vesta have, according to meteorites from them, very different oxygen and tungsten isotopic compositions compared to Earth. However, Earth and the Moon have nearly identical isotopic compositions. The isotopic equalization of the Earth-Moon system might be explained by the post-impact mixing of the vaporized material that formed the two,[51] although this is debated.[52]

The impact would have released enough energy to liquefy both the ejecta and the Earth's crust, forming a magma ocean. The liquefied ejecta could have then re-accreted into the Earth–Moon system.[53][54] The newly formed Moon would have had its own magma ocean; its depth is estimated from about 500 km (300 miles) to 1,737 km (1,079 miles).[53]

While the giant-impact theory explains many lines of evidence, some questions are still unresolved, most of which involve the Moon's composition.[55] Models that have the Moon acquiring a significant amount of the proto-earth are more difficult to reconcile with geochemical data for the isotopes of zirconium, oxygen, silicon, and other elements.[56] A study published in 2022, using high-resolution simulations (up to 108 particles), found that giant impacts can immediately place a satellite with similar mass and iron content to the Moon into orbit far outside Earth's Roche limit. Even satellites that initially pass within the Roche limit can reliably and predictably survive, by being partially stripped and then torqued onto wider, stable orbits.[57]

On November 1, 2023, scientists reported that, according to computer simulations, remnants of Theia could still be present inside the Earth.[58][59]

The newly formed Moon settled into a much closer Earth orbit than it has today. Each body therefore appeared much larger in the sky of the other, eclipses were more frequent, and tidal effects were stronger.[60] Due to tidal acceleration, the Moon's orbit around Earth has become significantly larger, with a longer period.[61]

Following formation, the Moon has cooled and most of its atmosphere has been stripped.[62] The lunar surface has since been shaped by large impact events and many small ones, forming a landscape featuring craters of all ages.

The Moon was volcanically active until 1.2 billion years ago, which laid down the prominent lunar maria. Most of the mare basalts erupted during the Imbrian period, 3.3–3.7 billion years ago, though some are as young as 1.2 billion years[63] and some as old as 4.2 billion years.[64] There are differing explanations for the eruption of mare basalts, particularly their uneven occurrence which mainly appear on the near-side. Causes of the distribution of the lunar highlands on the far side are also not well understood. Topological measurements show the near side crust is thinner than the far side. One possible scenario then is that large impacts on the near side may have made it easier for lava to flow onto the surface.[65]

First missions to the Moon (1959–1976)

After World War II the first launch systems were developed and by the end of the 1950s they reached capabilities that allowed the Soviet Union and the United States to launch spacecraft into space. The Cold War fueled a closely followed development of launch systems by the two states, resulting in the so-called Space Race and its later phase the Moon Race, accelerating efforts and interest in exploration of the Moon.

After the first spaceflight of Sputnik 1 in 1957 during International Geophysical Year the spacecraft of the Soviet Union's Luna program were the first to accomplish a number of goals. Following three unnamed failed missions in 1958,[244] the first human-made object Luna 1 escaped Earth's gravity and passed near the Moon in 1959. Later that year the first human-made object Luna 2 reached the Moon's surface by intentionally impacting. By the end of the year Luna 3 reached as the first human-made object the normally occluded far side of the Moon, taking the first photographs of it. The first spacecraft to perform a successful lunar soft landing was Luna 9 and the first vehicle to orbit the Moon was Luna 10, both in 1966.[72]

Following President John F. Kennedy's 1961 commitment to a crewed Moon landing before the end of the decade, the United States, under NASA leadership, launched a series of uncrewed probes to develop an understanding of the lunar surface in preparation for human missions: the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Ranger program, the Lunar Orbiter program and the Surveyor program. The crewed Apollo program was developed in parallel; after a series of uncrewed and crewed tests of the Apollo spacecraft in Earth orbit, and spurred on by a potential Soviet lunar human landing, in 1968 Apollo 8 made the first human mission to lunar orbit (the first Earthlings, two tortoises, had circled the Moon three months earlier on the Soviet Union's Zond 5, followed by turtles on Zond 6).

The first time a person landed on the Moon and any extraterrestrial body was when Neil Armstrong, the commander of the American mission Apollo 11, set foot on the Moon at 02:56 UTC on July 21, 1969.[245] Considered the culmination of the Space Race,[246] an estimated 500 million people worldwide watched the transmission by the Apollo TV camera, the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.[247][248] While at the same time another mission, the robotic sample return mission Luna 15 by the Soviet Union had been in orbit around the Moon, becoming together with Apollo 11 the first ever case of two extraterrestrial missions being conducted at the same time.

The Apollo missions 11 to 17 (except Apollo 13, which aborted its planned lunar landing) removed 380.05 kilograms (837.87 lb) of lunar rock and soil in 2,196 separate samples.[249] Scientific instrument packages were installed on the lunar surface during all the Apollo landings. Long-lived instrument stations, including heat flow probes, seismometers, and magnetometers, were installed at the Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 landing sites. Direct transmission of data to Earth concluded in late 1977 because of budgetary considerations,[250][251] but as the stations' lunar laser ranging corner-cube retroreflector arrays are passive instruments, they are still being used.[252] Apollo 17 in 1972 remains the last crewed mission to the Moon. Explorer 49 in 1973 was the last dedicated U.S. probe to the Moon until the 1990s.

The Soviet Union continued sending robotic missions to the Moon until 1976, deploying in 1970 with Luna 17 the first remote controlled rover Lunokhod 1 on an extraterrestrial surface, and collecting and returning 0.3 kg of rock and soil samples with three Luna sample return missions (Luna 16 in 1970, Luna 20 in 1972, and Luna 24 in 1976).[253]

Cultural representation

Since prehistoric times humans have depicted and later described their perception of the Moon and its importance for them and their cosmologies. It has been characterized and associated in many different ways, from having a spirit or being a deity, and an aspect thereof or an aspect in astrology.

For the representation of the Moon, especially its lunar phases, the crescent (🌙) has been a recurring symbol in a range of cultures since at least 3,000 BCE or possibly earlier with bull horns dating to the earliest cave paintings at 40,000 BP.[220][226] In writing systems such as Chinese the crescent has developed into the symbol 月, the word for Moon, and in ancient Egyptian it was the symbol 𓇹, meaning Moon and spelled like the ancient Egyptian lunar deity Iah,[334] which the other ancient Egyptian lunar deities Khonsu and Thoth were associated with.

Iconographically the crescent was used in Mesopotamia as the primary symbol of Nanna/Sîn,[224] the ancient Sumerian lunar deity,[335][224] who was the father of Inanna/Ishtar, the goddess of the planet Venus (symbolized as the eight pointed Star of Ishtar),[335][224] and Utu/Shamash, the god of the Sun (symbolized as a disc, optionally with eight rays),[335][224] all three often depicted next to each other. Nanna/Sîn is, like some other lunar deities, for example Iah and Khonsu of ancient Egypt, Mene/Selene of ancient Greece and Luna of ancient Rome, depicted as a horned deity, featuring crescent shaped headgears or crowns.[336][337]

The particular arrangement of the crescent with a star known as the star and crescent (☪️) goes back to the Bronze Age, representing either the Sun and Moon, or the Moon and the planet Venus, in combination. It came to represent the selene goddess Artemis, and via the patronage of Hecate, which as triple deity under the epithet trimorphos/trivia included aspects of Artemis/Diana, came to be used as a symbol of Byzantium, with Virgin Mary (Queen of Heaven) later taking her place, becoming depicted in Marian veneration on a crescent and adorned with stars. Since then the heraldric use of the star and crescent proliferated, Byzantium's symbolism possibly influencing the development of the Ottoman flag, specifically the combination of the Turkish crescent with a star,[338] and becoming a popular symbol for Islam (as the hilal of the Islamic calendar) and for a range of nations.[339]

The features of the Moon, the contrasting brighter highlands and darker maria, have been seen by different cultures forming abstract shapes. Such shapes are among others the Man in the Moon (e.g. Coyolxāuhqui) or the Moon Rabbit (e.g. the Chinese Tu'er Ye or in Indigenous American mythologies the aspect of the Mayan Moon goddess, from which possibly Awilix is derived, or of Metztli/Tēcciztēcatl).[333]

Occasionally some lunar deities have been also depicted driving a chariot across the sky, such as the Hindu Chandra/Soma, the Greek Artemis, which is associated with Selene, or Luna, Selene's ancient Roman equivalent.

Color and material wise the Moon has been associated in Western alchemy with silver, while gold is associated with the Sun.[340]

Through a miracle, the so-called splitting of the Moon (Arabic: انشقاق القمر) in Islam, association with the Moon applies also to Muhammad.[341]