The Moon has been a source of fascination and wonder throughout human history. When you look up at the Moon, you can see various dark plains (maria) and bright highlands on its surface. The maria appear darker because they contain more volcanic rock. The highlands appear brighter because they are older and contain more crushed rock from meteorite impacts. But if you look closely at the Moon, you may notice some curious shapes and shadows on its surface. One such shape that people often look for is the “face” or “man in the Moon.”
The idea of a “man in the Moon” dates back centuries. Early civilizations told myths about a figure or face visible on the lunar surface. The concept became especially popular during the Renaissance era in Europe. Some people claimed the shadows formed the face of a man, while others said the face resembled that of a rabbit. Writers and artists began depicting the “man in the Moon” in their works. Today, the phrase is still used to refer to the pareidolia experience of seeing a human face or form when looking at the Moon’s surface features.
But is the “man in the Moon” just an optical illusion based on the dark patches on the lunar surface? Or are the shadows really shaped like a human face? In this article, we will explore the origins and science behind the “man in the Moon” legend.
The Origins of the “Man in the Moon”
The idea of a face or figure visible on the Moon is incredibly ancient. Records of Moon gods and goddesses date back as far as the Neolithic period around 5000 BCE. Early civilizations viewed the Moon as a deity and told stories about the shadows seen on its surface.
Ancient Myths and Legends
Some of the earliest known myths about a “man in the Moon” come from ancient Egyptian and Greek cultures.
The Egyptian moon god Khonsu was said to watch over the night sky. Some legends claim Khonsu or the god Thoth was imprisoned in the Moon as punishment for wrongdoings on Earth.
In ancient Greek mythology, the goddess Selene was the personification of the Moon. Her origins are uncertain, but some myths say her parents were the Titans Hyperion and Theia. Stories depict Selene riding a chariot across the sky each night.
The Greeks also told tales of a shepherd named Endymion whom Selene fell in love with. She put him into an eternal sleep so she could admire his beauty forever. Some legends say Endymion’s resting figure could be seen from Earth as the “man in the Moon.”
Early Observations in Europe
During the Middle Ages in Europe, philosophers, scholars, and artists began studying the heavens more closely. By the 1500s, many accepted the idea that shadows on the Moon formed the shape of a human face or body.
English scholar Alexander of Aphrodisias wrote some of the first known descriptions of seeing a “man” in the Moon in the 3rd century CE. He claimed the Moon’s markings resembled a human bust.
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei released drawings in 1609 that detailed the lunar features he observed through a telescope. One of his sketches shows the shadow formations long associated with the “man in the Moon.”
As telescopes improved, astronomers created more detailed maps of the Moon, yet the legend of the “man” persisted. Popular moon maps in the 1700s by Johann Schröter and Tobias Mayer depicted a human face. Schröter and Mayer likely drew a face to match what viewers expected to see.
The “Man in the Moon” in Literature and Art
By the Renaissance era, the “man in the Moon” was a common motif in art, literature, and music across Europe. Italian painter Raphael depicted Endymion asleep on the Moon in his famous 1518 work Sleeping Endymion. English playwright John Lyly titled one of his comedies Endymion in 1588.
French artist Georges Méliès featured a moon face in his 1902 silent film A Trip to the Moon. The “man in the Moon” also appeared in popular songs and nursery rhymes like “The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon.”
Modern artists like Joan Miró continued using lunar motifs and faces in their surrealistic works into the 20th century. The “man in the Moon” remains a familiar symbol and continues to inspire creative works today.
Formation of Lunar Maria
To understand what causes the “man in the Moon” illusion, we need to first examine how the Moon’s distinctive surface features formed. The dark, smooth plains on the lunar surface are known as lunar maria (Latin for “seas”, singular mare). The lighter, heavily cratered regions are the lunar highlands. But how did these areas form?
Early Volcanic Activity
The maria were formed by ancient volcanic eruptions when the Moon still had substantial geologic activity. These lava flows date back roughly 3 to 4 billion years ago, not long after the Moon first formed around 4.5 billion years ago.
The early Moon was continuously bombarded by meteors and asteroids. These impacts punched through the lunar crust, allowing lava from the Moon’s mantle to erupt onto the surface. Over hundreds of millions of years, the volcanic basalt floods covered and smoothed over large portions of the Moon’s landscape, creating the dark maria.
Slow Cooling and Contraction
The mare basalts were very fluid and flooded many impact basins and craters before slowly cooling. As the lava cooled, it contracted and hardened into a fine-grained, dark rock composition.
With little atmosphere on the Moon, the molten rock was exposed and cooled relatively quickly compared to lava flows on Earth. But the maria are much thicker than terrestrial lava flows, ranging from 1-3 miles thick in many areas. It took a long time for the massive flood basalts to fully cool and solidify.
Battering of the Highlands
As volcanic activity declined, meteorite bombardment continued reshaping the lunar surface. The highlands are covered in light-colored, anorthosite rock made of calcium and aluminum.
Constant impacts pulverized the anorthosite crust of the lunar highlands into a fine, powdery regolith. This gives the highlands their distinctive bright and heavily cratered appearance compared to the solid, dark maria.
Lunar Maria Create Optical Illusions
The major differences between the maria and highlands are essential factors in the “man in the Moon” illusion. These key characteristics create the shadows and shadings that resemble a human face.
Smooth, Flat Maria
The maria form large, smooth plains scattered across the lunar surface. These dark patches often resemble eyes, a nose, and an open mouth from Earth. The flat flood basalts reflect very little sunlight, making them appear dark.
Rough, Bright Highlands
In contrast, the cratered highlands are elevated and irregularly shaped. The anorthosite rock and regolith covering the highlands reflect sunlight strongly, giving them a bright white glow. The rough terrain often looks similar to hair, a forehead, or cheeks.
Shadows and Shading
The interplay between the maria and highlands creates shadows and shading effects. Sunlight hits the elevated curves of the highlands and casts shadows over the maria. To an observer on Earth, these shadows make the dark mare patches look like facial features. The contrast makes the illusion of a face appear stronger.
Pareidolia Phenomenon
Pareidolia is the tendency for the human brain to see recognizable shapes and forms in vague or random stimuli. Seeing faces and figures on the Moon is a form of pareidolia.
The lunar maria and highlands provide enough suggestion of a face for the brain to fill in the gaps. Imagination transforms the random patterns into the perception of a familiar object like a human face.
Appearance of the “Man in the Moon”
Now that we understand the Moon’s geography and how its surface features formed, let’s examine some of the key areas that create the “man in the Moon” illusion for Earth observers.
The Lunar Nebulae
The dark, oval-shaped lunar maria known as Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis form the illusion of eyes on the lunar face. These “seas” are smooth basaltic plains formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.
Located in the Moon’s northwest quadrant, these maria appear significantly darker than the surrounding highlands. This contrast makes them look like enormous eyes staring down at Earth.
The Lunar Highlands
The bright, rugged regions around the eyes form the rest of the perceived face. These are the lunar highlands, covered in highly reflective anorthosite rock and regolith.
The curving ridge of Montes Apenninus and Montes Caucasus frame the northern and eastern edges of Mare Serenitatis. Their irregular contours look similar to a forehead and cheeks on the lunar face.
Smaller ridges and crater rims bordering Mare Tranquilitatis add shape to the head’s chin and jawline. The varied terrain brings life and dimension to the facial features.
Sinus Iridum – The Lunar “Mouth”
The large bay known as Sinus Iridum forms the illusion of a mouth on the lunar face. This curved mare region stretches across the Moon’s upper mid-latitudes.
Like the “eye” maria, Sinus Iridum appears dark due to its smooth, lava-formed surface. Its crescent shape lined by the bright Crater Laplace gives it the look of an open mouth.
The mountain rings of Jura and Hercynian Mountains frame the “mouth” and contribute to the facial image. Their shading provides depth to the face’s appearance.
Other Maria and Highlands
Additional lunar features can sometimes enhance the perceived facial image. Other small maria and seas may look like nostrils, lips, or eyebrows. Bright crater rings can appear similar to wrinkles and scars.
The combination of mare and highland features alters slightly with the Moon’s phases. But the primary “eyes,” “mouth,” and surrounding terrain persist in creating a distinctive lunar face.
Why the Lunar Face Disappears and Reappears
The “man in the Moon” illusion varies in strength and visibility over time. The face may clearly appear on some evenings but then seem to disappear on other nights. What causes this changing perception?
Positioning of Moon and Sun
The angle of sunlight striking the Moon determines the shadows cast on its surface. As the Moon orbits Earth and the Sun moves higher or lower across the sky each day, different areas become illuminated and shaded.
When sunlight hits the Moon’s surface at a direct angle, the shadows become less pronounced. This can cause the facial features to fade and disappear.
Oblique or low sunlight creates stronger contrasts between the lunar highlands and maria. These conditions make the “man in the Moon” illusion sharper and more visible.
Moon’s Phases and Libration
The Moon’s orbital phase cycle also affects its visual appearance. At full moon, the Sun illuminates the Moon’s Earth-facing side straight on, minimizing shadows. The lunar face illusion tends to fade or vanish at this stage.
During crescent phases, sunlight glances across the Moon at an angle, accentuating the shaded relief. A crescent moon is often the ideal phase to see the “man in the Moon.”
Lunar libration – slight oscillations in the Moon’s rotation – also brings different areas into view. This can alter the positioning and visibility of the perceived facial features over periods of days or months.
Observer’s Location on Earth
An observer’s latitude on Earth also influences the Moon’s orientation and appearance in the sky. From the tropics, the Moon appears more overhead, with different visible geography than at higher northern or southern latitudes.
The Moon also appears upside down in the southern hemisphere compared to the northern hemisphere. So a “man in the Moon” may look oriented differently depending on your global location.
Changing Perception and Imagination
The appearance of the “man in the Moon” ultimately depends on each observer’s visual interpretation. Changing lighting conditions may reveal or obscure possible facial features.
But pareidolia also depends on the observer’s mindset, culture, imagination, and priming. Knowledge of the “man in the Moon” legend may predispose people to see a face in the lunar surface. When the illusion fades, imagination and belief in the myth sustain the perception of a lunar face.
Conspiracies and Misinterpretations
Throughout history, some people have misinterpreted or misrepresented the Moon’s appearance to promote conspiracy theories, hoaxes, and false claims. Let’s examine some notable examples surrounding the “man in the Moon” myth.
Moon Landing Conspiracies
Some moon landing conspiracy theorists have claimed the absence of visible stars or a “man” in photos prove NASA faked the Apollo missions. However, these accusations rely on misunderstandings.
The bright lunar surface overexposed many Apollo photos. Short exposure times also prevented dim stars from appearing. And the specific lunar areas the Apollo missions landed on lacked the mare/highland contrasts that produce a “man in the Moon” illusion. But none of this evidence indicates a hoax.
Misinterpreting Transient Lunar Phenomena
Brief anomalous lights, colors, or obscurations on the Moon’s surface are known as transient lunar phenomena (TLPs). Some TLP observations have ignited speculation about lunar inhabitants or activities.
In reality, substantiated TLPs have proven to be effects of meteors, sunlight angles, or terrestrial atmospheric interference. They are not signs of UFOs, fires, or explosions on the lunar surface as sometimes claimed.
Moon Zoo Citizen Science Project
The Moon Zoo crowdsourcing project enlists online volunteers to classify lunar surface features in telescope images. This helps scientists study and map the Moon in detail.
But Moon Zoo has been criticized for possible pareidolia bias among volunteers who expect or desire to see artificial structures on the Moon. In truth, no convincing evidence of lunar anomalies has emerged from the project.
Marketing Hoaxes and Tricks
Over the years, some companies and authors have created deceptive moon images for financial gain. In the 1950s, the Great Moon Hoax of Scotland claimed to show life on the Moon. More recently, a German “news” site posted a digitally faked image of a lunar city.
These stunts aimed to generate interest, social media shares, and website traffic or book sales. But critical examination reveals they are not genuine lunar discoveries as asserted.
Conclusion
The idea of a “man in the Moon” is an intriguing astronomical legend that persists today. This optical illusion arises from the natural lunar geography and interplay of sun, shadow, and pareidolia psychology. While conspiracy theories surrounding the Moon persist, the scientific evidence confirms that the lunar “face” is just an imaginative myth without any artificial or alien origins.
So the next time you gaze up at a crescent moon, look closely for the perceived visage – can you see the “man” too? But appreciate this sky sight as an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, and nothing more than a fanciful trick of light and shadow.