Australian uncovers something very odd about the moon, and questions why it's never been taught in schools

We all see the moon as a constant, a shared sight that connects people across the globe. Yet, many people are only just discovering that this seemingly universal sight is not as identical as it seems. The moon can look completely different depending on where you are in the world, and this video just proved that. In a now-viral video, Corey from Australia—who goes by @coreyyy.exe on TikTok—posed a question that stunned viewers. “Why the f*** are we not shown in school that the way we see the moon in the southern hemisphere is upside down to the way it’s seen in the northern hemisphere and vice versa?” he asked.

Corey shared how moving between hemispheres had left him confused for years. “I knew something was up, but I couldn’t f***ing put my finger on it,” he said. He added, “No one talks about it. Why?” He then explained that the moon’s appearance changes due to the direction you have to look to see it. “This is because if you’re in the southern hemisphere, you have to look north to see the moon, and if you’re in the northern hemisphere, you have to look south,” he said. As a result, the orientation of the moon flips depending on your location. “The way you see the moon in Brazil is different to how you see it in England, and the way you see the moon in New Zealand is different to how you see it in Japan.”

The science behind Corey’s discovery is straightforward but not commonly taught. According to Dr. Alastair Gunn, writing for BBC’s Science Focus magazine, the phenomenon is tied to the Earth’s orientation. The moon appears "upside down" in the southern hemisphere because of the way the planet is positioned in space. For those in the northern hemisphere, a typical full moon might show large dark patches on the left-hand side and fewer patches on the right.

In the southern hemisphere, the view is flipped, with the right-hand side appearing darker. This simple difference is tied to our orientation on the Earth’s curved surface. For many viewers, this realization was a complete surprise. @jabberwocky.mtl wrote, "How this never occurred to me is insane when I'm literally upside down by Australian standards." @k0vina humorously said, "I like the idea of you moving to a new country and being like 'there's something wrong with the moon.'" @sassy_green_moth chimed in, "Related: the southern hemisphere also has different constellations in their night skies which is weird to think about...What do you mean, you don’t see Ursa Major every night?"

@tochiin added, "I moved to the southern hemisphere for a year and it took me literally seeing a sideways crescent moon to be like, 'Aye wait.'" @abbielee97 shared, "This is one of the first things I noticed as a star gazer coming from Ireland on my first trip to Thailand. The moon didn’t get full from left to right but from bottom to top and I was baffled." @immagr8fulbeing commented, "I'm in Canada, but this just makes me want to travel to Australia or another place in the southern hemisphere to check out the moon."

You can follow Corey (@coreyyy.exe) on TikTok for more tidbits about his travel experiences and more.