Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song Dynasty created an allegory equating the waxing and waning of the Moon to a round ball of reflective silver that, when doused with white powder and viewed from the side, would appear to be a crescent.
Ker je Luna sorazmerno blizu Zemlje, okultacije posameznih zvezd niso povsod vidne na planetu, kot tudi ne istočasno.