Hey Answer Girl -

I was driving home from Riverton with some friends. We weren't drunk, but we couldn't help but notice the moon was shaped like a football for most of the trip. What caused that?

-Evelyn

Bob Howell, an associate professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Wyoming, said the moon can appear in football-like form for a couple of reasons. It all depends on the phase of the moon.

Lunar phases can be confusing. The first phase, new moon, is when you can hardly see the moon at all. It's just a faint circle in the sky. Next comes waxing crescent, when the moon looks like a croissant. First quarter moon is when half the moon shows up brightly, and waxing gibbous occurs when more than half of the moon but less than all of the moon is brightly lit.

Then, of course, comes full moon - which is obvious - followed by waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent, which are pretty much the same as their counterparts but backward.

Howell first thought you may have seen an almost-full moon very near the horizon. When the moon is near the horizon, the atmosphere bends the light and can make the moon look slightly squashed or oval in shape - so, kind of like a football.

Or, you may have seen the moon in one of its gibbous phases. Between first or last quarter moon and full moon, the moon can appear more ovular, much in the way the full moon does when it gets too close to the horizon.

And I'm glad no one was drunk. It's never a good idea to get drunk and ride around in a car.

Hey Answer Girl -

Does Casper have "sister city" status with any cities in the U.S. or around the world? If we did establish sister city status with, say, Arcadia, Calif., population 56,000, could we get travel deals there?

- DBR

Nope, Casper has no sisters.

We used to have a sister city in Taiwan, but according to Peter Meyers, administrative analyst for the city of Casper, we didn't keep up with the program.

If we joined a sister city program, we may be able to get some travel deals, but those are often reserved for larger cities. Depending on the program we joined (lots of sister city programs exist out there), we may be in it more for the cultural education from a place similar to us in size but different from us in just about everything else.

Hey Answer Girl -

Where are the thermometers, gauges, etc. located that are the basis for the Tribune's daily temperatures, precipitation and snowfall? Just curious.

- Anonymous

DayWeather, Inc. takes care of all of our weather needs here at the Star-Tribune.

Mark Heuer, meteorologist and newspaper service manager for the weather company, said the high and low temperatures come from thermometers at Natrona County International Airport.

The precipitation gauges are located at the airport, as well. During the winter, however, the weather service sometimes has to depend on a group of people who take precipitation data from around the county. Too much snow can cause the automated site at the airport not to work.

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com

Ask Answer Girl

Answer Girl tackles your questions about Casper, the universe and everything else. Submit your question by email to megan.lee@trib.com, or call Megan Lee at 266-0589.