#1738: Moon Shapes explain

[Caption above the panel:]

Interpreting the shape of the moon in art

[The left part of the panel shows a two-column chart is shown with labels above the columns. The left side shows the moons shape as white on a black square. These types of moons could be seen in certain art pieces. The right side saying whether this is normal or not as indicated with a green check mark or a red X. Right of the second column there are explanations of why the specific type of moon is marked as it is and what it could be called or how it could be possible even with the red X. The upper three moons have one common explanation as indicated with a bracket that covers all three with the text on the middle part of the bracket. Similarly moon five and six also have a bracket and only one explanation.]

Shape Normal?

[Shape #1-3 shows a white circle (full moon), a more than half full moon (Gibbon) and a thin seal at the bottom right of the square.]

✓

✓ “Full” or “Quarter” or “Harvest” or “Wax Gibbon” or whatever

✓

[Shape #4 same as #3 but with the seal in the upper part of the square.]

X Not possible at night

[Shape #5-6 shows a full moon with a circular section taken out of the right side and a seal that goes almost all the way around the circumference of the moon with almost a full circle taken out of the top left part of the moon.]

X Only possible during a lunar eclipse (#1 only, dubious) or a solar eclipse (bright part is the Sun)

[Shape #7 same as #3 but with the seal a little smaller and more to the top and less to the left. Around the moon there are several starts represented with 29 small white dots. In the center of the black square there is a black circle, coinciding with the outer rim of the seal. Within this circle (the dark side of the moon) there are no stars!]

✓ Looks OK

[Shape #8 same as #7 but apart from the 29 small white dots from before there are now also 6 more dots inside the dark circle with no stars in #7.]

X There’s either a hole in the Moon or a nuclear war on its surface.