megan+elizabeth+YELLOW

=__MOON PHASES__= Elizabeth Watts and Megan Sprague Yellow-6

=REFERENCE MATERIAL=
 * Modeling the Moon Phases (March 13, 2007)
 * Moon Test Study Guide (March 13, 2007)
 * Miracle of the Lunar Eclipse Lab
 * Class Notes (February 28, 2007)
 * Class Notes (March 13, 2007)

=PHASES=

1) New Moon
 * 1) 2) Waxing Crescent
 * 2) 3) First Quarter
 * 3) 4) Waxing Gibbous
 * 4) 5) Full Moon
 * 5) 6) Waning Gibbous
 * 6) 7) Last Quarter
 * 7) 8) Waning Crescent

//waxing// -- moon getting bigger as it orbits, lit on right side //waning// -- moon getting smaller as it orbits, lit on left side

What do the Phases of the Moon Look Like from Space?
media type="youtube" key="RjDt8qz8g6E"

=CLASS NOTES=

February 28, 2007




The moon moves through Earth's shadow and is blocked out when viewed from Earth (see picture at right). There is no lunar eclipse each month because, in order for the eclipse to happen, the Earth's and the moon's planes of orbit must cross paths, something that happens only about two times a year.

//umbra// -- dark part of Earth's shadow that gets narrower as it goes out into space (aprox 1,000,000 miles) //penumbra// -- lighter part of Earth's shadow that gets broader as it goes out into space

What Causes a Lunar Eclipse? An Astronomer Has the Answer
media type="youtube" key="wHxcWSiD_4E"

How do the Moon Phases Relate to Geometry?
March 13, 2007
 * Earth's Orbit Rate: 1° per day
 * °/time
 * 360/365=aprox 1
 * Moon's Orbit Rate: 13° per day
 * 360/30=13
 * Earth's Spinning Rate: 15° per hour
 * 360/24=15
 * Moon's Orbital Period (one 360° trip around Earth): 27 1/3 days
 * Lunar Month (time for moon to complete one cycle of all phases): 29.5 days

Apogee & Perigee
//apogee//: moon is farthest from the Earth //perigee//: moon is closest to the Earth

Movements, Every Night/Night-to-Night
Each day the moon rises 50 minutes later because the moon orbits Earth at 13⁰ per day and Earth only orbits the sun at aprox 1⁰ per day. But the moon will return to its position in the sky 24 hours earlier when the Earth rotates aprox 50 minutes -- this is called "catching up to the moon".

Seasonal
Summer Winter = = =GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINAL EXAM!!!= Tuesday in the Little Theater
 * mellower
 * low in sky
 * yellow
 * humid --> big
 * brighter
 * high in sky
 * white
 * smaller