I never ceased to be amazed how little aircrew knew about the night sky, eg that objects rise in the east (north east, east, southeast, etc) and set in the west – just like the sun. I use to bore the pants off my first officers explaining such things as why the earliest sunset doesn’t coincide with the shortest day, etc.
But one incident really took the biscuit. It was a beautiful clear morning as I drove in to work before dawn. There was a splendid full moon (but with a difference – read on). I overheard several pilots in the crew room making comments about the peculiar red moon and wondered why it was like that. Then a delightful trolley-dolly came up to me and said: “Lovely total eclipse this morning wasn’t it Jack?”