11/10/2022 0 Comments Stage picture shapes![]() ![]() Each day, as the moon moves another 12 to 13 degrees toward the east on the sky’s dome, Earth has to rotate a little longer to bring you around to where the moon is in space. The moon’s orbital motion is toward the east. The moon’s orbital motion carries it eastward in Earth’s sky. So the moon moves – with respect to the fixed stars – by about 12 to 13 degrees each day. The moon’s orbit carries it around Earth’s sky once a month, because the moon takes about a month to orbit Earth. It’s as though the moon is moving on the inside of a circle of 360 degrees. The moon’s eastward, orbital motion is easiest to notice from one day (or night) to the next. But you have to watch the moon closely, with respect to stars in its vicinity, over several hours. The moon’s own orbital motion can be detected in the course of a single night, too. That westward motion is caused by Earth’s spin. If you just glance at the moon one evening – and see it again a few hours later – you’ll notice it has moved westward. It’s a motion in front of the fixed stars. This is a slower, less noticeable motion of the moon. Although the moon rises in the east and sets in the west each day (due to Earth’s spin), it’s also moving on the sky’s dome each day due to its own motion in orbit around Earth. The moon takes about a month (one moonth) to orbit the Earth. Just know that – when you see a thin crescent moon in the west after sunset – it’s not a rising moon. The rising and setting of all celestial objects is due to Earth’s continuous daily spin beneath the sky. The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, each and every day. Image via Martin Clebourne’s article Where is the Moon?Ģ. Earth’s daily spin causes the moon – like the sun – to rise in the east and set in the west each day. It’ll help you begin to understand why the moon you see is in that particular phase. ![]() No matter what phase of the moon you see in your sky, think about where the sun is. #Stage picture shapes fullThat’s always the case on the night of a full moon.ĭon’t just take our word for it. The moon’s fully illuminated half – its dayside – faces Earth’s night side. The moon, Earth and sun are aligned with Earth in the middle. For example, do you see which moon phase is being shown in the first illustration above? The answer is, it’s a full moon. Moon phases depend on where the moon is with respect to the sun in space. After all, it’s the sun that’s illuminating and creating the dayside of the moon. When you see the moon, think of the whereabouts of the sun. In addition to the rich and beautiful colors, the most special thing about this photo is that you can see the relationship between the moon and the sky.” Thank you, Meiying! Moon phase composite via Fred Espenak. It contains all the daytime moons of all ages. ![]() In fact, if you look up at the sky, you will often find that not only the moon can be seen during the day This combined photo is the daytime moon I collected for nearly 5 years. The moon’s orbital motion is toward the east View at EarthSky Community Photos | Meiying Lee in Taipei, Taiwan, made this composite of a full lunar cycle on October 2021 using images collected over the years, and wrote: “Some people think that the moon can only be seen at night. The moon takes about a month (one moonth) to orbit the EarthĤ. The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, each and every dayģ. ![]() When you see the moon, think of the whereabouts of the sunĢ. How can you understand moon phases? Here are four things to remember.ġ. As seen from our earthly vantage point, as the moon orbits around Earth once each month, we see varying fractions of its day and night sides: the changing phases of the moon. And, like Earth, the moon is always moving through space. Like Earth, the moon is always half illuminated by the sun the round globe of the moon has a day side and a night side. Why does the moon seem to change its shape every night? It’s because the moon is a world in space, just as Earth is. Why does the moon seem to change its shape every night? Image via Wikimedia.ĮarthSky’s lunar calendar shows the moon phase for every day in 2021. As seen from the north side of the moon’s orbital plane, the Earth rotates counterclockwise on its rotational axis, and the moon revolves counterclockwise around Earth. ![]()
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