History Main / WeirdMoon

* ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'': Occasionally, a huge red moon is visible in front of the clouds. [[spoiler: Gremory again, see above.]]

*** The actual Moon, as revealed in the ''Endwalker'' [[ExpansionPack expansion]], is not only [[spoiler:the prison of Zordiak but also an emergency interstellar vehicle for the whole population of it's host planet.]]

* ''VideoGame/KerbalSpaceProgram'' has Kerbin and the Mun, which are the game's analogues of Earth and the Moon. But then there's Minmus, Kerbin's other moon, which fits this trope. While Earth has various objects orbiting it other than the Moon, these objects tend to be temporary (see the real-life section below). Minmus, however, appears to be permanent, and apparently doesn't make a whole lot of scientific sense. It's teal and apparently icy, which would be impossible for such a tiny object that orbits the fictional equivalent of Earth (which has enough gravity to keep ice on its surface and in its atmosphere, but is otherwise well within the "Frost line" of the solar system). The fandom's best guess is that it's a captured comet whose albedo is just high enough to prevent it melting. An honourable mention also goes to Laythe, a moon of the gas giant Jool, which has liquid water and an oxygen-bearing atmosphere despite being well outside the Goldilocks Zone for either.

* Early on its history, the Moon is thought to have been covered in a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_magma_ocean magma ocean]], and some hundreds of millions of years later lava emerged from its interior covering part of its surface. Were humans around by then, they'd have seen when it was in crescent phase its unilluminated side and parts of it respectively glowing red because of all that molten rock.

* Lots of science fiction shows like to illustrate that a planet is [[AlienSky alien]] by having multiple moons and really big moons, even if they seem too close to exist without tearing the planet apart from tidal forces, or indeed (in the case of Vulcan from ''Franchise/StarTrek'') when the planet has previously been stated to have no moons. Also, fantasy often invokes the "many moons" trope, albeit with less attention to details like tidal effects since AWizardDidIt.

** Note that it's no longer ''quite'' so impossible for a point of light to appear within the crescent moon's horns, as orbiting satellites ''can'' pass in front of the moon at any stage of its cycle, and reflect sunlight independently of how much of the moon's surface is illuminated.
* The recapper for ''Series/HellsKitchen'' at Website/TelevisionWithoutPity has noted that the series repeatedly features shots of a full moon when it cannot possibly be a full moon the entire time throughout the series run. Sometimes, a crescent moon is thrown in, apparently just for kicks.

* [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow Ren and Stimpy]] are stranded on a remote planet in one of the space episodes. Ren goes to bed but Stimpy implores him to go outside and look at the moon. Ren goes back outside grumbling about what's so special about it and ''cracks his head on it''. It's about two yards above the surface and [[WorldOfChaos things just get weirder from there]].

* Many cartoons show visible stars within a crescent moon.
** One classic modification is in George Herriman's ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat''. Often, the moon would be not just shown as a crescent, but as a slice of itself--with curvature, implying that most of the moon had been hacked away. Since ''Krazy Kat'' ended its run in the 1940s.
** This may be excused if circumstances have caused a huge chunk to have been taken out of the moon anyway. The problems this would cause for tides or the integrity of the remaining bits of the moon seem to rarely be addressed.

%%%

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1491123749096544600
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* One of the {{Running Gag}}s on the series ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this in several games: to date, ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', and (as seen in the page quote) ''VideoGame/Onimusha3DemonSiege''.
--> I've got my eye on you, Moon.
** Again in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1''.
-->Dammit Moon, I knew you were up to no good.
* In ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'', the Moon is shaped like an octagon.
* On ''Roleplay/CerberusDailyNews'' the [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121212192355/cdn/images/2/20/Logo_copy.jpg logo]] for media conglomerate DDS is a krogan face superimposed over a moon.

** The actual reason is eventually revealed to be tied into [[BigBad Salem's]] origin: [[spoiler:After the Brother Gods refused to resurrect her lover, she rallied all mortals in rebellion against them. The gods did as the gods do and retaliated by wiping out humanity, leaving Salem alive and immortal to think over her mistakes before departing Remnant. The Dark Brother made a point of departing through the moon, leaving it shattered.]]

* ''WebVideo/Local58'' depicts the Moon (or an entity that travels through moonlight) as some sort of EldritchAbomination that can drive people mad just by observing it. In "Skywatching," it is shown to have gained a flesh-like organic appearance.
* Matt Parker from ''WebVideo/Numberphile'' points out in [[https://youtu.be/6JwEYamjXpA?t=619 a talk]] how there is a hole in the moon on a ''[[Series/TheMuppets Muppets]]'' book cover where the stars shine through.

''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':

* The moon in ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' starts full, but then becomes crescent-shaped when Pickle Inspector accidentally snips a chunk out of it. Similarly, in the epilogue to ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', [[spoiler:the Carapacians plan to deliberately blow up part of the moon to make it crescent-shaped.]]
** A few variations in ''Homestuck'' as well: [[PaletteSwap Prospit and Derse]] have moons chained to their surfaces, and the trolls' homeworld Alternia has two moons, a huge green one and a smaller pink one with a tiny moon of its own. Its eventually revealed that the green one isn't natural, and is only there because of [[{{Satan}} Doc Scratch]].

* Oddly averting the second rule of lunar phases, the moon in ''VideoGame/TheHunterCallOfTheWild'' is always in the gibbous phase.
* Chapter 2 of ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' features a moon that looks like a baseball, for no apparent reason. It's likely an homage to the ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' story arc mentioned above.

* The 2007 premiere of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' showed a half moon with the lit part on the top in the nighttime, as well as having the moon be seen by people in Kansas and China at the same time in the same position in the sky, thus getting it wrong in two ways at once. Smallville also likes to show the moon in the north -- which would work if Smallville was located on the southern hemisphere.

* Nuitari is a particularly weird moon because only evil mages can see it, except when Nuitari passes in front of one or both of the other moons; also, Nuitari's position can be inferred when it blocks any of the stars.
* When all three moons are aligned, they appear as a big, red-irised moon-eye in the sky. Rest assured, that will be a memorable night.

* The ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' universe has three moons, Solinari, Lunitari, and Nuitari, which are white, red, and black, corresponding with the [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience colors of good, neutral, and evil magic]] in the world. Nuitari is a particularly weird moon because only evil mages can see it, except when Nuitari passes in front of one or both of the other moons; also, Nuitari's position can be inferred when it blocks any of the stars.
** And when all three moons are aligned, they appear as a big, red-irised eye in the sky. Rest assured, that will be a memorable night.

* In the Beethoven's Sixth Symphony portion of ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', the crescent moon is used as a bow to fire off a star that lights the other stars in the sky. Justified in that the setting is mythological. The final section of Stravinsky's ''Rite of Spring'' segment is sandwiched between the formation of a total solar eclipse.
* ''Creator/{{Pixar}}''

* A chapter of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', in what's probably an art error rather than deliberate liberty, had a moon that appeared to have part of a cloud ''behind'' it.

* Animation studio Creator/BeeTrain has a particular affinity for weird moons. As in ''Madlax'' they have used the moon many more times in different series.

* The last scene of ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' has two moons, one red and one blue, overlapping each other; this is [[FauxSymbolism symbolic]] of either Margaret and Madlax, Madlax and Limelda, or Limelda and Vanessa (the finale is...complicated).

* Animation studio Creator/BeeTrain has a particular affinity for weird moons. As mentioned above in Madlax they have used the moon many more times in different series.

* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': In the very beginning, seventy percent of the moon is destroyed by Korosensei, a super-powered, tentacle monster who threatens to do the same in one year to the earth unless the class of kids he teaches can kill him. Later, it is [[spoiler:revealed that it was actually a rat that had been experimented on with antimatter that exploded that caused the damage]]. In the end, the moon begins collapsing in on itself thanks to its own gravity and due to the explosion was sent closer to the earth, resulting in a very normal-looking moon.

* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': In the very beginning, seventy percent of the moon is destroyed (it appears to be pictured above) by Korosensei, a super-powered, tentacle monster who threatens to do the same in one year to the earth unless the class of kids he teaches can kill him. Later, it is [[spoiler:revealed that it was actually a rat that had been experimented on with antimatter that exploded that caused the damage]]. In the end, the moon begins collapsing in on itself thanks to its own gravity and due to the explosion was sent closer to the earth, resulting in a very normal-looking moon.

** Again in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''.

* TheManInTheMoon: The moon has a male face on it.

For weird moons caused by artistic stylization, see ArtsyMoon. If the moon has actually been physically altered to change its appearance, it's DefaceOfTheMoon. When the moon alters others comedically, see {{Moonburn}}. See also WeirdSun, TheStarsAreGoingOut, AlienSky, and FrequentlyFullMoon.

* ''VideoGame/{{Kingdom Hearts|I}}'' has a heart-shaped moon on its cover, though this was originally just a stylistic effect; it didn't appear in the actual game until [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the final]] [[EldritchLocation level]] of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. Said moon also happens to be the [[TitleDrop titular Kingdom Hearts]], the heart of all worlds in the series's universe, and the MacGuffin that the villains are trying to claim for their own purposes.

* Yes it's surreal, but Creator/VincentVanGogh's "Starry Night" has the crescent extending too far around the moon's surface.

* The crescent moon in Vincent van Gogh's ''Art/TheStarryNight'' is highly stylized, larger and brighter than it ever has been in real life. This adds to the beauty and wonder of the scene.

* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', on the Klingon home world Qo'nos you can see the broken pieces of the Klingon moon Praxis in the sky, which exploded at the beginning of ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry''.