Anyone else noticed this? It stood out like a sore thumb to me, first thing I noticed when I visited the southern hemisphere in real life was the moon’s surface features being ‘upside down’. But not in MSFS, it always looks like the northern hemisphere view of the moon. Is this a bug or a feature?
Very interesting. I just went on a little deep dive. Is the crescent shape also wrong?
I guess it should vary depending on what latitude you are located on. If so, what latitude is the moon oriented too?
Its probably because they just overlooked it I guess. Its hard to believe there is any other reason for it when so much effort was put into the night sky.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever flown in the Southern Hemisphere with the Moon in the sky, but this is disappointing to hear indeed.
They should patch that, especially now that they’ve added an absurdly fast plane capable of stratospheric flight that can cover planet-size distances, and considering they toyed around with the idea of adding the space shuttle in at least one interview. So not only should the Moon look the correct angle, but it should also be able to “rotate” in the sky as we move over the Earth relative to its position.
They were probably hoping nobody noticed, lol. Otherwise, the sky modeling is quite superb overall. The sun and moon appear in 3D space on the world map.
I’m wanting to check the crescent shape orientation now. That seems like it’s a useful navigation aid that sailors would probably know. On the equator the moon crescent would either be up or down.
Strange … nowhere near 1 April and we get this.
Why do need it to be April 1? According to Stellarium, here’s what the Moon looked like for me in my town here in the Northern Hemisphere a week or so ago when it was pretty much full:
And here’s what it looked like in Adelaide, Australia (Southern Hemisphere, obi).
I own three telescopes, and enjoy observing the night sky for the past 25 years, but honestly could care less about this in the sim…LOL. Seriously, this is where we’re at now?
It’s just interesting. Besides, flat earthers will probably seize on this as proof the earth is flat.
Usually the sky modeling is very impressive in the sim. Even eclipses happen, although they don’t fully work (like in Kerbal Space Program).
People in the southern hemisphere probably care. They are always needing to tell the rest of the world what season it is. Although it’s hard to tell unless you look through the visor.
Aviation just makes you more aware of how the sky, seasons, daylight and time are different everywhere.
Anyone verified if the crescent direction is correct or not?
Also, I now know where the rabbit comes from! I was always puzzled by people seeing the rabbit. However, I’ve never seen a “man in the moon”. It just looks like the moon to me.
I would ask a image be posted to test the veracity of Moon not inverted in southern hemisphere in MSFS
With all the problems we still have in the sim you are worried about an upside down moon? Jeez.
It just needs to be on the list. It’s a “low hanging fruit” item. I’d guess on the MS team and not Asobo.
The Moon’s presence is an important environmental object with navigation importance.
looks like it took the whole Community almost 2 years to even notice, so I guess it’s not something that is supposed to become a big deal …
I guess it’s just one of those things that bothers you once you notice it. Little things can ruin immersion so I think it’s a perfectly valid issue to raise.
My love of weather and cloud formations is currently affecting my immersion, because the clouds are so rubbish, so I empathise with the OP.
I own a telescope too and to be honest I would not have noticed either. Its an interesting find though.
Which way is “UP”?
What impact does the hemisphere of the observer have?
What impact does the time of day of the observer have? Moonrise (in the East) vs Moonset (in the West).
At what point in the traversal from moonrise to moonset does the orientation change from “right way up” to “upside down”. Is the change sudden or gradual? At the half-way point between moonrise and moonset (moon directly overhead) how do you define “Up” and “Down”?
I had heard that years ago, before computer animation was common, one of the big broadcast networks (ABC, ABC, or NBC) spent a lot of time and money on a new news open that featured a spinning globe.
Soon after they introduced this open a viewer informed them the Earth was spinning the wrong direction.
However, I just found a clip on YouTube. From the description the intent was apparently to show it from the perspective of the space shuttle orbiting the Earth.
Nice catch, basatasa.