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Basic Astronomy
of the Moon |
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The Moon is the only satellite which accompanies
the Earth in its path around the Sun. The Moon's
diameter is 27% of the Earth's diameter and it's
mass is 0.01% of the Earth's. It is 384,000km away
from us here on Earth. The Moon takes 27.32 days
to orbit the Earth (as seen by us against the background
of stars). The orbital plane of the Moon lies within
5˚ of the apparent orbit of the Sun (as seen from
Earth).
We only see the Moon from here on Earth by the light
which is reflecting upon it from the Sun and this
is how we see the phases.
The diagram below shows the Moons movement around
the Earth and the reflection of the Sun onto the
Moon which allows us to to see the Moon.
Please note proportions of
Sun Moon and Earth are not correct
The Moon always keeps the same face turned towards
the Earth. When the Moon is new, the Sun, Moon
and Earth are all aligned with the Moon between
the Earth and Sun. While the Moon is New and
there is no light to illuminate it, the Moon
is still visible due to light reflected from
the Earth. When the
Moon is Full the Earth is directly between
the Sun and Moon.
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The
New Moon as seen from Earth |
The Full
Moon as seen from Earth |
he first and last quarters
of the Moon are at the 90° and 270° positions.
The crescent Moons and the gibbous Moons are
between these as illustrated in the following
diagrams.
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The first
crescent as seen from Earth
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The first
quarter
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The waxing
gibbous Moon |
The waning
gibbous Moon |
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Last quarter |
Waning crescent
Moon |
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