Earth’s Nightlight – May 2026
- Cynthia Zager Godwin
- 14 hours ago
- 5 min read
IN THIS POST:
Memorial Day - A High School Memory
Kennedy Space Center Visit
What's So Special About the Moon?
We're Going Back!
Writer's Corner
Memorial Day - A High School Memory
First, a hearty thank you to all of the men and women who do serve and have served in the armed forces and keep our country free. One of my best memories of Memorial Day was when I was in high school.
I was in the band (as a flag carrier) and the band director would bus us to three local cemeteries on Memorial Day. The band would play "The Star Spangled Banner" and other patriotic tunes, I'd hold my flag with the other eleven girls, and the assembled veterans would salute their fallen comrades. Seeing those veterans salute was always very moving.
Whatever problems this country has, we still enjoy more freedoms than anywhere else in the world. I have never taken my freedom for granted and even more so, after the COVID lockdowns when many churches in California were not allowed to meet.
Kennedy Space Center Visit
I recently enjoyed visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida with a group of friends. The place is so large (6 x 34 miles or 10 x 55 km) they have to bus you around to the various exhibits. We spent the entire day there and still did not have time to see everything. It is definitely worth a visit if you plan a vacation anywhere near Orlando. And yes, Disney World is located there, too.
Highlights of the visit was how super-excited and knowledgeable every single of of the guides was, seeing how big a space shuttle really is, the cargo bay is the size of a semi-truck, and a virtual reality game we played shooting space rocks to supply energy for a moon base. The game didn't make much sense but it was fun to blow stuff up. I'm sure kids love it!
With VR even though you know the experience is fake, your brain still thinks it's so real! One friend who played the VR game with us was so scared she said she wanted to sit down on the floor in the middle of the game.
Since NASA plans to return to the Moon, a blog on the Moon and how key it is to life on Earth seemed appropriate. I recall someone saying, “If the Moon didn’t exist, neither would we!”
What’s So Special about the Moon?
1) The Moon really does, “rule the night.” (Genesis 1:16, ESV). It reflects about 12% of the Sun’s light. More and the biochemistry of plants who require a night cycle would be disrupted. Without the Moon to provide light, the night would be too dark for nocturnal animals to hunt.
2) Our Moon is huge in comparison to our planet, one quarter the size of Earth. Some have even referred to the Earth-Moon system as a double planet. Other moons in the solar system are only a tiny fraction of the size of their planets.
3) Because the Moon is so massive, it acts as a counter-weight to the Earth, stabilizing our axial tilt. Without the Moon, Earth would wobble from 10 – 33 degrees on its axis. This would cause catastrophic climate changes. One theory states an addition of only 2.5 degrees to the current tilt would result in an ice age. Not good for life on Earth!
4) Earth’s orbital shape is more circular that that of the other planets. Their orbits are more elliptical or like squashed circles. Because the Moon is so large, it helps stabilize Earth’s orbit. This prevents wild climatic changes that would occur if the Earth orbited far from the Sun at times and at others swung much closer.
5) Also, without the stabilizing influence of the Moon on the Earth, the Sun and the massive gas giant Jupiter would exert too much of a gravitational pull on us. That would cause wild swings in our orbit. At the closest approach to the Sun, radiation would spike and the oceans would boil. Tectonic forces would flex the crust causing massive earthquakes, world-wide volcanic eruptions, and constant tsunamis. Swinging far from the Sun would cause to Earth to freeze. Again, not good for life on Earth.
6) The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon. But the Moon is 400 times farther away. This means Earth is the only place in the solar system where total solar eclipses can be observed.
7) The Moon causes wind and tides that clean the shorelines and help circulate nutrients so the oceans don’t become stagnant.
8) The Moon helps protect Earth from incoming asteroids, meteors, and comets. The side of the Moon facing away from Earth and out to deep space is more heavily cratered than the side that faces us. In fact, it’s one of the most heavily cratered areas in the solar system, with at least a dozen craters over 150 miles (241 km) in diameter.
We're Going Back!
Why all this excitement about the Moon? Because NASA plans to land a crew, yes, real, actual, live people on the Moon in early 2028. It’s called the Artemis IV program and we want to establish a base at the south lunar pole. The area was chosen for many reasons.
One is massive amounts of water ice have been found at the south lunar pole. Besides providing drinking water, water can be split into breathable oxygen and the hydrogen used for rocket fuel. With abundant rocket fuel available, the south pole can be used as a launchpad for missions to Mars or other parts of the solar system.
Another major reason for a base at the south pole is near constant sunlight on the tall craters and mountains there which can supply solar power. Due to the slow rotation of the Moon, a day last two weeks. The resulting night also last two weeks. That’s a long time to be dependent on power sources other than solar. At the terminator between day and night, although the Sun skims the horizon, light is available 70-90% of the time. That equals power to run things. I can't wait to see how this all turns out!
Writer's Corner
My wonderful husband is in the middle of formatting "Choice of Alliance" for sale on Amazon. To say the least, that is a huge job and I am so thankful for him! He used to be in marketing and is using a program called "In Design." It's super-powerful and allows for a lot little touches, like putting a black and white picture above the chapter number.
After the formatting process is finished, it's back to the cover designer with the exact number of pages so they can upload the blurb to the back of the print edition.
I'm hoping to launch the book June 15th, so stay tuned!
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