The crescent moon has always been very special to me. It is
something that is only visible in the evening sky a few hours a month- just as
the moon is setting the first few days after the new moon.

When I happen to be outside at just the right moment, with just the right
visibility on the horizon I might catch a glimpse of her. It always takes my
breath away.

I suppose that one of the reasons I love the crescent moon is that the
setting crescent moon appears to me more three dimensional. Seeing it in the
sky makes it feel not like a bright disk over head, but a distant world to
explore.

The most extreme experience I have had of connecting with the celestial
bodies was watching the total eclipse of the sun in 2001 in Zambia. Most
people under 40 in North America have not seen a total eclipse of the sun
unless they have traveled to watch one (last one visible from even part of the
continental US was in 1979 and before that 1970).

Standing in a field in Zambia with 2,000 other people I watched as two great spheres crossed paths in the sky in slow motion. It's a rare moment when you actually can actually grok how
small you are relative to the motions of our vast solar system, itself only a
speck on the cosmic scale.

Needless to say, the moon is a very sacred place to me. It is one of the
best vantage points to appreciate all the beauty, magnificence and fragility of
the home planet, it is a familiar friend even in unfamiliar lands, and it is
the place where humanity will cut its teeth on the next great phases of our own
development as a species-- how to live sustainably, how to live cooperatively
and maybe even how to live happily.

Although these lessons could all be learned at home too, there is something
about being out at the frontiers of the world, out exploring, out beyond the
comfort zone of your box, that really calls forth the greatness of human
beings. That is what space is to me.

I call the crescent moon the traveling moon. Maybe because when you are out
driving across the open desert or sitting on the tarmack you are more likely to
see her then when you are sitting at home. Maybe it’s because when I am
traveling she always comes out to greet me.

Either way, she is a good omen, reminding us all to appreciate the
extraordinary planet that we call home and inviting us to create a future for
humanity that has never been.