Reader\'s Digest Canada - 10.2019

1. empyrean—
   A: based on science.
   B: crescent-shaped.
   C: concerning the sky
   or heaven.


2. selenography—
   A: study of tides. B: lunar
   mapping. C: traces left
   by passing asteroids.


3. moonstruck—
   A: irritable. B: distracted
   by romantic love.
   C: experiencing bad luck.


4. perigee—A: lunar
   mountain. B: poem
   addressed to the moon.
   C: closest point to earth
   in the moon’s orbit.


5. luminary—
   A: unit of moonlight.

B: light-giving body.

C: object of worship.

6. EMU—A: extra-
   vehicular mobility unit.
   B: earth-moon unicolony.
   C: extraterrestrial
   material unknown.


7. gloaming—A: dusk.
   B: being driven mad by
   lunar influences. C: dark
   side of the moon.


8. moon cake—A: pellet
   of silicon dioxide in the
   moon’s crust. B: thick
   stage makeup. C: pastry
   eaten during the Chinese
   Mid-Autumn Festival.


9. waxing—A: decreas-
   ing in size or intensity.
   B: turning yellow.

C: increasing in size

or intensity.

10. omen—
    A: red-coloured moon.
    B: solemn oath. C: event
    interpreted as predicting
    good or evil.


11. lustre—A: gentle
    radiance. B: fine dust.
    C: turning of the tide.


12. soporific—
    A: blinding. B: serene.
    C: sleep-inducing.


13. gibbous—A: with
    more than a half-circle but
    not a full circle illumin-
    ated. B: on a monthly
    basis. C: hard as rock.


14. deity—A: unit of
    gravity. B: god or god-
    dess. C: synchronous
    rotation of two astro-
    nomic al bodies.


15. earthshine—
    A: sunlight reflected from
    earth onto the moon.
    B: alcohol brewed on the
    moon. C: moon sighting
    during daytime.

The moon captivates scientists and poets

alike with its magic and mystery. Whether

you’re penning sonnets or building rockets,

this lunar vocabulary is out of this world.

BY Linda Besner

rd.ca 109

WORD POWER