nights are pitch black

[Kevin Gregoire]

i dont know about anyone else but i live in south dakota and i have noticed the past several years
that at night i dont think the moon is ever out anymore cause it is black as coal. i look out my back door
before bed and i can barely see my garage door that is twelve feet away and its like that most every night.

has anyone else noticed this and what is the problem? i miss a nice bright moonlit night.

[Phil Thien]

Maybe, for whatever reason, it has been overcast at night?

[David G Baker]

My ex-wife would have said "eat more carrots". The moon is still bright as ever here in Mid-Michigan so your lack of moon light may well be overcast sky as Phil wrote. With all of the weather pattern changes that we have experienced in the past few years many things have changed weather wise here in Michigan.

[Jim Rimmer]

Full moon in Houston a couple of weeks ago. I'm guessing nighttime clouds.

[Kevin Gregoire]

its hard to tell but there cant be clouds every single night for weeks upon weeks upon weeks can there??

[Bruce Page]

I like the "eat more carrots" suggestion.

[ray hampton]

Meanwhile in Kentucky, we got fast horses, bluegrass and the moon bow

[John McClanahan]

No moon for the Dakotas. We are hogging it down here in the mid-west. :D:D

[Jim Koepke]

its hard to tell but there cant be clouds every single night for weeks upon weeks upon weeks can there??

It also depends on what time of night you are looking.

A waning moon rises later in the evening. A new moon sets shortly after the sun.

In effect, if one week was overcast and the next two weeks were the last quarter and first quarter of the moon phase, then you might be able to look in the evening and not see a moon for week after week after week.

jtk

[george wilson]

Are you getting cataracts?

[Steven DeMars]

Perhaps it is a new "moonlight" savings plan to work with "daylight" saving . . . You know our government is always looking for ways to save money . . .

Although we have been having very bright full moons here . . . or maybe the earth really is flat ! ! !

Steve

[Bryan Morgan]

Must be nice! I have several big telescopes I can't use because the nights here are always a muddy orangish-brown or purple... We have to use several layers of blinds, curtains, and pull covers to get it dark enough to sleep...

[Charlie Reals]

A week or so ago the woods were lit up like broad daylight on the full moon. Any other time it is pitch black.

[Michael Weber]

Are you getting cataracts?
That was my first thought as well. I'd see an ophthalmologist :eek:

[Frank Drew]

Kevin, Get a calendar that notes the full moon; on those nights, look for it. If you can't see anything, including stars, then it's either overcast or you need your eyes checked, as has been mentioned.