StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Observing the Moon's Phases - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
Student Date Due: Observing the Moon’s Phases The earth rotates around the sun in a counterclockwise direction; On the other hand, the moon goes around the earth from west to east or in an anticlockwise direction. Moon’s phase is change in the moon’s shape as it orbits around the earth…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.8% of users find it useful
Observing the Moons Phases
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Observing the Moon's Phases"

Download file to see previous pages

It takes almost one month (twenty seven days) for the moon to go around the earth, in direction relative to the stars; however, the moon takes almost twenty nine days to orbit around the earth relative to the sun; this is because as the moon goes around the earth, the earth at the same time is travelling around the sun; thus the moon will make an extra distance to make one round in regard to the sun (Wlasuk, 5). Looking at the moon at the same time each week and making sketches was of great help in understanding changes, in the moon’s phases, the moon rises from the west and sets east while the sun rises in the east and sets west.

From the sketches, the moon moved approximately 92 degrees each week. Twice in the observation month moon appeared, start of the initial week, and the end of the second week; this happened when the moon was fully lit and facing the earth. That usually happens when the earth seats between the sun and the moon (this is referred to as the full moon) and the when the moon is between the earth and the sun (new moon). After one week since the observation of the full moon that occurred when the sun was opposite to the moon and rising in the west, at the exact moment when the sun was setting, the moon entered the quarter moon shape.

From the earth, the moon was seen as a half circle because that was the only visible part that was lit. Naturally, that was the last quarter and it appeared after the full moon and before the new moon. After that, the moon became completely dark. This occurred because the moon moved between the sun and the earth and the moon’s side facing the earth darkened. This is referred to as the new moon phase. That phase of the moon was usually not observable. However it was possible to make an outline of the moon as part of the sunlight reflected off the earth and hit the moon.

At that point, the sun and the moon were on the same side of sky (Wlasuk, 12). After the new moon, a week later the first quarter phase of the moon was seen. Other phases of the moon were also seen, these phases developed in between the weeks. After the new moon, the beginning of that week a smaller phase less than half the moon was seen that phase of the moon is referred to as the crescent. Another observation made was that this phase was brighter due to gentle light reflected by the earth. That phase was known as the waxing crescent, and it appeared just after the new moon.

The begging of the second week, after the first quarter moon phase, a bigger moon phase than half size of the moon was seen. This phase is referred to as gibbous. Waxing gibbous was a more illuminated and increasing phase of the moon that appeared just before the full moon phase. At the start of the third week, after the full moon phase appeared, gibbous phase reappeared; on the other hand, that phase was less illuminated and decreasing than observed previously. Waning gibbous was seen just after the full moon.

After the last quarter of the moon, crescent phase was seen. This phase is known as waning crescent phase as it has decreased illumination and it appeared just before the new moon. In conclusion, it takes about a month for the moon to go around the earth, during this period the moon’s phase changes from fully lit to completely dark and back to full illumination again, moving about 13 degrees every twenty four hours and 92 degrees each week. The first quarter is about 7 days old while the full moon is 14 days old; the last quarter is

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Observing the Moon's Phases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/physics/1487232-observing-the-moonyies-phases
(Observing the Moon'S Phases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/physics/1487232-observing-the-moonyies-phases.
“Observing the Moon'S Phases Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/physics/1487232-observing-the-moonyies-phases.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Observing the Moon's Phases

Astronomy assignment

the moon's revolution around the earth makes it to appear like it is changing its shape.... As shown on the diagram below, the moon's cycle or change of the phases is a continuous process where it changes constantly.... phases of the Moon The relationship between the Sun, the planets which in this case orbit the sun, their satellites and many other small objects like comets and asteroid make up the solar system.... In this paper, however, a discussion will be based on the phases of the moon and as a focus on position of other bodies is included....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Position and Phase of the Moon

the moon's initial direction is eastward, but the earth also rotates eastward and at a much higher speed.... the moon's initial direction is eastward, but the earth also rotates eastward and at a much higher speed.... The stars move across the sky in Moon Journal I collected data for a whole week, observing the position and phase of the moon each day, and analysed the data and made the conclusions below from the data and my own research:The moon moves in a circular orbit around the earth....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Galileo's Siderius Nuncius

While Galileo's discoveries stirred controversy with the Catholic Church by disproving the scriptures regarding how planets, the sun, and other celestial bodies orbit the Earth, his method of observing the movement of planets with satellites, mainly Jupiter and its four moons allowed for the support of the Copernican theory of planetary movement, and initialising the disproving of the traditionally-accepted Aristotelian theory of a geocentric view of the cosmos.... He begun observing the large planet around early January, wherein he records the appearance of three bright stars orbiting around Jupiter, but do not have similar sizes, and in which Galileo describes as such: “the more eastern one and the western one appeared a bit larger than the remaining one” (65)....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Observing the moon

You must have at least fifteen observations in order to get full credit of the change in the moons shapes and positions in the sky.... In order for you to do this, one has to take some crucial data on daily basis at… In this case, I took the data on March 2014 at night 10:00 pm every night three days after the new moon....
4 Pages (1000 words) Assignment

The Relationship of the Earth, Moon and Sun as the Moon Orbits the Earth

Each phases of the moon was labeled and presented in diagram forms as Experiment #3 — Observing the Moon's Phases Objective To determine the relationship of the Earth, Moon and Sun as the Moon orbits the Earth.... In astronomy, determining the relative position of the moon, the sun and the Earth requires the study of phases of the moon at different days of observation.... In which case, complete cycle through the phases called lunar month gives the synodic month, always around 29 days....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Astronomy as Among the Oldest Science

Galileo's telescope helped in revealing the phases of Venus, and this was a striking moment to the explanation of the heliocentric theory (Basu and Matzner, N.... A year later, Galileo Galilei, who was an Italian astronomer, made drastic modification to the design, which made production of images to be much clearer and larger t the eyes of the person observing....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Questions and Answers: Astronomy

nbsp; The Sun influences tides, although its tide-producing force is less than half the strength of the moon's.... solar eclipse occurs at New Moon when the Earth passes through the moon's shadow.... This shadow consists of two parts: umbra and penumbra, as the moon's.... The author also identifies when a solar and lunar eclipse occurs and describes the phases of the Moon....
17 Pages (4250 words) Assignment

Stability of Methane Clathrate Hydrates under Pressure

Ammonia's primary role has been that of being an anti-freeze agent for the formation of clathrate hydrate and ice and being a modifier in stabilizing the solid ice and the phases of methane clathrate as a thermodynamic inhibitor (Barbieri 57).... They have indicated that few guest molecules responsible for creating powerful hydrogen bonds with the water compound in the clathrate hydrate lattice can produce stable phases....
11 Pages (2750 words) Report
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us