Lunar

The Moon!



a. The moonrise and moonset go ahead one-hour ahead everyday. The moon also goes through a whole cycle in about 28 days, from New moon to the next.

b. The phases of the moon depend on where it is around the orbit of the Earth, for example, we only see one side of the moon everyday. When the moon is full this means that the moon facing the sun, while the sun is behind the Earth, reflecting light on the moon.

c. As the moon rotates around the Earth the phases change, these phases are basically how much of the side of the moon we see is illuminated at the time. It takes the moon about 28 days or a less to complete a rotation around the Earth. The phases- 1. ** New ** (also called the Dark Moon) - not visible 2. ** Waxing Crescent ** 3. ** First Quarter ** - called a "half moon" 4. ** Waxing Gibbous ** 5. ** Full ** - we can see the entire illuminated portion of the moon 6. ** Waning Gibbous ** 7. ** Third Quarter ** - another "half moon", but the illuminated part is opposite of the First Quarter 8. ** Waning Crescent ** 1. ** New ** - back to the beginning  d. Lunar Eclipse- is when the Earth comes between the Sun and the moon, this occurs only when the moon is Full, for the reason that it can enter the penumbra (shaded outer region) of the Earth. It lasts much longer than a solar eclipse, and can be partial at times depending how centralized on the penumbra of Earth it lies on. The area where it can be viewed on earth is where the penumbra begins, and ends. So about half the earth can see it while the other cannot.

Solar Eclipse- is when the moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, this occurs only when the moon is in new state. It is when the moon come into the path of which the earth is moving with the sun. Again the moon may not come to the central area of the sun, and can cause a partial eclipse. Total Eclipses are very rare, for the reason that the moon almost never follows the same path as the sun. There is a centralized path for a solar eclipse casting a huge shadow on earth, however some areas can see it from different angles. The path usually covers different areas of the earth depending where it lines up.

e. On Dec 21, 2010 there was a partial Lunar eclipse visible on a half that did not cross through Saudi Arabia, much more in North America, and Southeast Asia.

f. The moon is composed of rock and soil, not unlike earth. And there are some similarities. But the nature of the rocks and soil over the moon isn't that well documented. We only have a few samples, and this limited supply of stuff to study originated in only a few areas - those where we landed to investigate. It isn't like we have samples from all over, as there were only a few missions to the lunar surface.

g. Heavy bombardment 3.8 – 4 billion years ago due to the residues from the formation of the moon orbiting the earth.

The craters are caused by commits hitting the moon’s surface, and since there is no atmosphere it enters the moon without burning into nothing.

h. The moons rocks are older ranging between 3.2 billion years to 4.5 billion years. While on Earth the oldest rock found is 3.9 Billion years old.

Mariam, Rami, Mohammad A., Krutheka

Our Powerpoint on knowing the moon through natural sciences and math-