On a clear day icebergs can be seen 15 to 20 miles from the bridge of a ship -- farther from the crow’s nest. On a moon-lit night, that distance is greatly reduced to only a few miles, depending on the relative positions of the berg, ship and moon. The night of the Titanic Disaster presented unusual conditions that helped conceal the presence of the iceberg until it was too late to avoid. There was no moon to help illuminate the ocean. Icebergs are frequently spotted by small waves that break against the water line, but the absence of wind or swells prevented this. Without these cues, the iceberg appeared as a black mass against the black background of the sky, and the berg was spotted only a few hundred yards from the bow of the Titanic.