"ugo" wrote in message
...

I find it quite difficult (and frankly shocking, seeing how very few
people
understand the basics of geometry behind all this) to understand that so
much people have such a hard time grasping the concept of phases.

Well, I don't think it's that people have a hard time grasping the concept
of phases... it's just not the first thing they think of when confronted
with the sight.

If they see a crescent they immediately suspect there's an eclipse in
progress. For
goodness sakes, that would imply the Moon was being eclipsed almost all
the
time. Why would then the REAL lunar eclipses ever be something worth
watching?

Excellent point, and I've got to assume you get people in here all the time
with the same query. Must drive you right 'round the bend with frustration.

Is it really THAT hard to imagine what a half-illuminated sphere would
look
like from different angles?
Or, are most people just plain... well, dumb (not to be meant as an
insult)?

Well... I wouldn't go so far as to say dumb (though goodness knows I've been
dumb more times than I can count). But I will admit that as soon as the
phases of Venus were pointed out to me, I pretty much slapped my forehead
and went, "you flaming idiot!". Okay, yeah, dumb.

Mara