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PubMed1980

The moon and madness: a comprehensive perspective.

Previous research that related lunar phase to abnormal behavior has led to apparently conflicting findings because of different methodology. The present study, based upon both new data and that already in the literature, combined studies that used the same segments of the synodic cycle. Such analysis indicated a disproportionate frequency of abnormal behavior at the time of the new moon, at the time of the full moon, and in the last half of the lunar phase. These findings were regarded as generally congruent with folklore.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed1980

The influence of the sun, moon, climate and economic conditions on crisis incidence.

Investigated the relationship between 2,344 cases of crisis incidence over a 1-year period (1976) and geophysical, climatic and seasonal conditions. Results revealed an intricate interactive effect between the variables of sex, nature of crisis, period of analysis, and environmental conditions. Males crisis became more likely, with downward economic trends or decreased solar activity. In contrast to female incidence of crisis, which peaked in spring, that of males peaked in autumn. Increased solar activity was related strongly to the incidence of crisis experienced by people who were retarded, abused drugs and were guilty of assault and/or rape. The waxing of the moon was related closely to cases of assault and/or rape, while retardates were influenced further by the moisture content in the air. Temporal considerations revealed a positive relationship between full moon and crisis incidence on alternate months only. Generally, the increased cloud cover, rainfall and temperature in summer, gave rise to more crisis consultations. Finally, geophysical, climatic and economic conditions also were seen to act in conjunction with each other to influence crisis incidence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Manipulating stereopsis and vergence in an outdoor setting: moon, sky and horizon.

A simple stimulus generator has been constructed that permits a small illuminated target to be seen with variable inter-ocular disparity, when superimposed upon the binocular view of an outdoor landscape. This device was applied to several questions involving perception of size, distance and orientation, with the following results: (1) when the apparent distance to an "artificial moon", as perceived through stereopsis, is decreased by about 50-fold (from near horizon to about 60 m), its apparent size is reduced by only a miniscule amount (8% on average); hence, the moon illusion is probably not due to compensation--conscious or subconscious--for its apparent distance; (2) those changes in apparent size known as convergence micropsia vary as a function of the visual surround; for a vergence change of 1 deg, greater perceived change in size of a small target arises when a landscape is seen nearby than with empty sky as surround; (3) when a target is shown somewhat above the horizon against an empty sky, it must be viewed with divergence of the visual axes (image positions for "hyper-infinite" distance), in order to be perceived as vertically above objects on the skyline; this effect implies a strong backward tilt to the apparent vertical and probably reflects an attempt to "null out" the perceptual consequences of the convergence that typically occurs during downward saccades.

Depth Perception↗
PubMed1982

The moon illusion: II. A reference theory.

The present theory provides explanations for the moon illusion and related issues involving size and distance perception in natural, outdoor settings. Although some assumptions of previous theories are rejected, other pivotal aspects are retained in this formulation. In particular, the present theory states that both the sky and ground are important referents in judging the spatial extent of the moon. Neither factor alone can account for all the available data, but quantitative models incorporating both factors do quite well when applied to the parametric findings of Holway and Boring, as well as to the results obtained by Kaufman and Rock. The reference theory and its associated class of specific models suggest new theoretical directions and experimental tests to narrow yet further the selection of appropriate explanations for one of visual perception's oldest unsolved puzzles.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed2000

Optical detection of meteoroidal impacts on the Moon

Impacts of meteoroids on the Moon should cause detectable optical flashes, but the population of objects that are big enough is very low, and hitherto no unambiguous impact flashes have been recorded. The flux of meteoroids associated with the Leonid meteor shower of 18 November 1999 was predicted to produce observable flashes on the night side of the Moon. Here we report the unambiguous detection of five such impact flashes, three of which were seen simultaneously by other observers. We also observed a possible impact flash on 16 July 1999. All of the flashes were of very brief duration (<0.02 s), as expected for high-speed impacts.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Detection of an oxygen atmosphere on Jupiter's moon Europa.

Europa, the second large satellite out from Jupiter, is roughly the size of Earth's Moon, but unlike the Moon, it has water ice on its surface. There have been suggestions that an oxygen atmosphere should accumulate around such a body, through reactions which break up the water molecules and form molecular hydrogen and oxygen. The lighter H2 molecules would escape from Europa relatively easily, leaving behind an atmosphere rich in oxygen. Here we report the detection of atomic oxygen emission from Europa, which we interpret as being produced by the simultaneous dissociation and excitation of atmospheric O2 by electrons from Jupiter's magnetosphere. Europa's molecular oxygen atmosphere is very tenuous, with a surface pressure about 10(-11) that of the Earth's atmosphere at sea level.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed2004

Prolonged KREEP magmatism on the Moon indicated by the youngest dated lunar igneous rock.

Primordial solidification of the Moon (or its uppermost layer) resulted in the formation of a variety of rock types that subsequently melted and mixed to produce the compositional diversity observed in the lunar sample suite. The initial rocks to crystallize from this Moon-wide molten layer (the magma ocean) contained olivine and pyroxene and were compositionally less evolved than the plagioclase-rich rocks that followed. The last stage of crystallization, representing the last few per cent of the magma ocean, produced materials that are strongly enriched in incompatible elements including potassium (K), the rare earth elements (REE) and phosphorus (P)--termed KREEP. The decay of radioactive elements in KREEP, such as uranium and thorium, is generally thought to provide the thermal energy necessary for more recent lunar magmatism. The ages of KREEP-rich samples are, however, confined to the earliest periods of lunar magmatism between 3.8 and 4.6 billion years (Gyr) ago, providing no physical evidence that KREEP is directly involved in more recent lunar magmatism. But here we present evidence that KREEP magmatism extended for an additional 1 Gyr, based on analyses of the youngest dated lunar sample.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Saturn's moon Phoebe as a captured body from the outer Solar System.

The orbital properties of Phoebe, one of Saturn's irregular moons, suggest that it was captured by the ringed planet's gravitational field rather than formed in situ. Phoebe's generally dark surface shows evidence of water ice, but otherwise the surface most closely resembles that of C-type asteroids and small outer Solar System bodies such as Chiron and Pholus that are thought to have originated in the Kuiper belt. A close fly-by of Phoebe by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft on 11 June 2004 (19 days before the spacecraft entered orbit around Saturn) provided an opportunity to test the hypothesis that this moon did not form in situ during Saturn's formation, but is instead a product of the larger protoplanetary disk or 'solar nebula'. Here we derive the rock-to-ice ratio of Phoebe using its density combined with newly measured oxygen and carbon abundances in the solar photosphere. Phoebe's composition is close to that derived for other solar nebula bodies such as Triton and Pluto, but is very different from that of the regular satellites of Saturn, supporting Phoebe's origin as a captured body from the outer Solar System.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Big and Little Moon Peyotism as health care delivery systems.

Big Moon Peyotism was introduced in the 1880s to the Delaware, Osage and Quapaw of Northeast Oklahoma by John Wilson, a Delaware-Caddo from Southwest Oklahoma. This form of Peyotism and the Little Moon ritual developed by the Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche of Southwest Oklahoma formed the basis of the two major variations of this religion as practiced by Native Americans throughout North America. An ethnographic and historic comparison of these religious traditions in Northeast Oklahoma presents these as health care delivery systems and highlights the importance of health care as a factor in the acceptance and persistence of Peyotism.

Health Services, Indigenous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Asian-American deaths near the Harvest Moon Festival.

OBJECTIVE: Reexamine the claim that elderly Chinese-American women are able to prolong their lives until after the celebration of the Harvest Moon Festival. METHODS: See if independent 1985 to 2000 data for Chinese-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-Americans replicate results that were reported using 1960 to 1984 data for Chinese-Americans. RESULTS: The original 1960 to 1984 data do not support the death-postponement theory unless deaths that occur on the festival day are classified as having occurred after the festival. The new data do not support the theory, no matter how deaths on the festival day are classified. CONCLUSIONS: These data do not support the hypothesis that elderly Chinese-, Korean-, or Vietnamese-American women are able to prolong their lives until after the celebration of the Harvest Moon Festival.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Neodymium isotope evidence for a chondritic composition of the Moon.

Samarium-neodymium isotope data for six lunar basalts show that the bulk Moon has a 142Nd/144Nd ratio that is indistinguishable from that of chondritic meteorites but is 20 parts per million less than most samples from Earth. The Sm/Nd formation interval of the lunar mantle from these data is 215(-21)(+23) million years after the onset of solar system condensation. Because both Earth and the Moon likely formed in the same region of the solar nebula, Earth should also have a chondritic bulk composition. In order to mass balance the Nd budget, these constraints require that a complementary reservoir with a lower 142Nd/144Nd value resides in Earth's mantle.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1986

Self-poisoning and moon phases in Oslo.

During 1980 the relation between the moon phases and 1187 cases of self-poisonings in Oslo was studied. In contrast to a previous report from India no significant correlation was found between the full moon and self-poisoning. The aetiology of self-poisonings in western countries is rather more complex than to be explained by speculative 'human tidal waves'.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed2004

Analytical theory of an artificial satellite of the moon.

The dynamics of an artificial satellite of the moon is quite different from the dynamics of an artificial satellite of the Earth. Indeed, the C(22) term is only 1/10 of the J(2) term, and the effect of the Earth on the lunar satellite is much larger than the effect of the Moon on a terrestrial satellite. The method used here is the Lie method for averaging the Hamiltonian of the problem, in canonical variables. The solution is developed in powers of the small factors linked to J(2) and C(22). Short period terms (linked to l, the mean anomaly) are eliminated first, and then the long period terms (linked to g, the mean argument of the periaster, and to h, the longitude of the ascending node), which finally gives the secular motion. The results are obtained in a closed form, without any series developments in eccentricity or inclination. Thus, the solution applies for a wide range of values, except for few isolated critical values. The results are only very preliminary. As a side result, we were able to check the solution given by Kozai for the effect of the J(2) term on an artificial satellite.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

The moon illusion: a test of the vestibular hypothesis under monocular viewing conditions.

The results of earlier monocular experiments on the moon illusion have been either negative or confounded. To test the role of vestibular function, 24 subjects made forced-choice distance comparisons between stimuli mounted in translucent tubes. The stimulus tube for standard distance could be positioned in three viewing angles (45 degrees up, horizontal, and 45 degrees down). A comparison tube adjustable for distance was mounted horizontally. There was a greater perception of depth in the downward looking condition. The relatively weak effects are discussed in terms of a two-hypothesis explanation of the real-life moon illusion and the poor cues for depth perception in monocular viewing.

Astronomical Phenomena↗
PubMed1978

Apparent size contrasts of retinal images and size constancy as determinants of the moon illusion.

Kaufman and Rock (1962) and Rock and Kaufman (1962) concluded that the moon illusion is a function of and attributable to apparent distance. They also reported a large framing effect as an exception. Analysis of the effect suggests two components which can account for the illusion independently of apparent distance. These are apparent size contrasts of visual images of discriminable features or objects of the earth with the moon's image and size constancy of the features or objects plus the interactions of the two. Apparent distances to horizons are always a consequence of the necessary conditions for the illusion. They are related to the illusion but are not a determinant of it.

Association↗
PubMed1980

Drug overdose and the full moon.

This study assessed the relationship between the phase of the full moon and the incidence of overdose as reported in five metropolitan Phoenix hospitals and the Maricopa County Medical Examiner over the 15-mo. period from January 1, 1976, through and including March 31, 1977. A chi-squared analysis was performed and no significant difference between the distribution of cases occurring during the full moon phase and that outside of these periods was found.

Arizona↗
PubMed1980

[Ultrasonic diagnosis of intraperitoneal fluid in Morrison's pouch (and in the splenoperitoneal recess): the moon crescent sign (author's transl)].

Morrison's pouch, and, accessorily, the spleno-peritoneal recess, constitute specific indicators of the presence of intraperitoneal fluid. Intraperitoneal fluid gives rise to sonolucent atraip between the reflectivity of mean intensity of the liver and spleen, and the intense reflectivity of the perirenal fat. That image, which the authors term the "moon crescent sign", is displayed even when the fluid volume is as small as 30 to 40 ml. It is encountered in presence of ascites, but also in presence of fluid of inflammatory origin, of fluid due to pancreatic autolysis, or of blood. Hence the display of a moon crescent sign is of particular interest in the radiologic evaluation of an acute abdomen.

Abdomen, Acute↗
PubMed1997

[Daily number of births in Norway 1989-93. Variations across months, day of week, phase of the moon and changes in leave entitlements].

The variation in the daily numbers of births across month, day of week, phase of the moon and maternity leave entitlements have been studied for all births in Norway between 1989 and 1993, a total of 302,209 newborn children. The number of births was highest in the spring and lowest in November and December. A secondary birth maximum was observed in September, possibly related to activities during Christmas and New Year celebrations nine months before. Furthermore, births were least numerous at weekends and were concentrated in the middle of the week. This pattern probably reflects less active obstetric intervention at weekends. The number of births does not seem to vary with phase of the moon. At the time of the latest, and largest increase in national birth maternity leave entitlements, fewer births occurred in the days before and correspondingly more births in the days immediately after the date when the change came into force.

Adult↗