The Moon in 'The Hobbit': The most troubling light in the sky and how it confused J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien had retroactively tried to make the lunar phases described in his novel ‘The Hobbit’ consistent, and he failed. Quite by chance, he had got it almost right, though, despite operating with false premises discussed in this book.Incidentally, the lunar phases of ‘The Hobbit’ ran synchronous to those of 2017, which had provided the chance to verify them against reality. That is why this ‘Extended Edition’ includes much of the day-by-day timetable of Bilbo Baggins’ adventures and ...