T.A. 3019 January 25: Gandalf casts down the Balrog under a young crescent moon

Updated 2021 October 8

A great smoke rose about us, vapour and steam. Ice fell like rain. I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin. Then darkness took me…

Gandalf in “The White Rider” chapter of The Two Towers

“I threw down my enemy” by Donato Giancola

I wasn’t planning on posting a Lunar Read-along post today (2021 January 15), since the Moon is not mentioned for this date in the story, T.A. 3019 January 25 (S.R. 1419 Afteryule 25). It really has no relevance to the 3-day Battle of the Peak, at least not in Gandalf’s mind since he never mentioned it (thought maybe it just couldn’t be seen through all the vapour, steam, and ice); but I liked the way the Stellarium simulation screenshot turned out for the corresponding moon on 1942 January 19, depicted below at sunset.

The waxing crescent moon at sunset, on T.A. 3019 January 25 (S.R. 1419 Afteryule 25). Created in Stellarium using the moon of 1942 January 19, around 50°N latitude near Luxembourg or Frankfurt, Germany. Originally depicted using the Gurnigel, Switzerland landscape, but updated 2021 October 8 to use the Mount Everest landscape. If the altitude of Durin’s Tower was similar to the altitude of the Silberhorn in Switzerland (apparently the inspiration for the peak of Zirakzigil/Silvertine), then maybe this simulation is set a little too high up (but then the original simulation was probably not high enough).

You can see the same kind of waxing crescent moon for yourself this evening, or trailing behind the sun in the sky during the day, if you look for it carefully.

This moon is also similar in appearance to the moon of Durin’s Day, which should also be a moon 2 or 3 days past new, according to a Lalaith’s Middle-earth Science Pages blog post by Andreas Möhn, and also according to Part 7 of the blog post Tolkien’s Legendarium versus Astronomical Reality.

Incidentally, a similar looking moon will be setting on the eve of the destruction of the One Ring, two months (moons) from now.