Phases of the Moons and Planets
Lab Answers
AST 115 H, Plavchan
Brooke Masterson
2/8/16
Part 1: Phases of the Moon
1) A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon blocks sunlight over a portion of the Earth. The Moon must be in the new moon phase for the solar eclipse.
2) A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth blocks the Suns' light from the Moon. The Moon must be in the full moon phase during a lunar eclipse.
Part 2: Where is the Moon in the sky?
Here are the pictures of the phases of the Moon as observed during the lab.
Above is the new moon phase. Please disregard the glare.
Above is the waxing crescent phase.
Above is the 1st quarter phase.
Above is the waxing gibbous phase.
Above is the full moon phase.
Above is the waning gibbous phase.
Above is the 3rd quarter phase.
Above is the waning crescent phase.
Finally, we conclude the phases of the Moon with the next phase that will start the whole process over again,
the new moon phase.
And now, all of the phases in one drawing.
3) The Moon, at phase first quarter, will rise in the sky at noon.
4) The Moon, when it is full, will rise at sunset.
5) The Moon, during 3rd quarter, will be on your meridian at 6 am.
6) The Moon, at first quarter, will SET at midnight.
7) The Moon, during its new moon phase, will be on your meridian at noon.
8) If the full Moon is just setting in the west, what time of day is it? Sunrise.
Part 3: The Moon's rotation
9) Of the two different procedures you used, in which one does the Moon rotate with respect to the Sun?
The first procedure. The one in which we were rotating the moon without moving the moon from its position. In other words, we were just rotating the moon in our hands.
10) Given the fact that the "man-in-the-Moon" surface features are always pointed toward the Earth, which procedure must describe the Moon's actual motion around the Earth?
The second procedure. The one where we were orbiting the Moon around the Earth while the Moon was spinning slowly. The Moon spun at a rate at which the man-in-the-moon side was always facing the Earth.
11) From Earth's point of view, is the "dark" side always the same as the "hidden" side? Explain.
By hidden side, I assume you mean the side of the Moon that people on Earth never see because of the way the Moon orbits and rotates around the Earth. My answer to this question is no, the dark side is not the same as the hidden side. Earth sees the dark side of the Moon because we experience phases of the Moon. Phases of the Moon include parts of the Moon lit and parts of it DARK - aka the "dark" side. No, the dark side is not always the same as the hidden side. The hidden side is never seen from the Earth, but parts of it are lit up by the Sun except for when Earth sees the Full Moon phase - then the hidden side IS the same as the dark side - because the Moon's side that is facing us is the lit side, and the hidden side and the dark side are one and the same. However, during all other moon phases, the hidden side and the dark side are not the same because during the crescent moon phase, for an example, we see a dark side of the moon because we do not see the Moon that isn't lit up (we don't see anything but the crescent because it is dark). That side of the moon is still facing us (so it isn't hidden), but it is dark. I hope you understand what I mean by this question, because it is hard to explain but I understand that the dark and hidden side are not always the same.
Part 4: Phases of the Planets
12) Do both inferior and superior planets have the same phases? If not, which ones are different?
No, inferior and superior planets do not have the same phases. These are the phases of the inferior and superior planets, which is simply my best guess from analyzing Figure 2 like I analyzed Figure 1.
13) At what phase do I think a superior planet with be brightest?
The phase when a superior planet will be the brightest is when it is FULL. This will definitely happen at point 1 and 8, if you refer to Figure 2.
Part 5: End of lab questions
14) Figure 1 is the Earth-Moon system as seen from far above the Earth's north pole. At position 1, the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun and at position 5, the earth is between the Moon and the Sun. Does a lunar and solar eclipse occur every time the Moon completes an orbit? Explain.
Lunar and solar eclipses don't occur every time the Moon completes an orbit around the Earth. This is so because the Moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees. That means that the Moon does not always lie in the same plane as the Earth - which prevents there from being a solar and lunar eclipse every time the Moon orbits the Earth BECAUSE the Moon has to be in the same plane as the Sun for those eclipses to happen. I hope that this picture, from reddit.com, illustrates what I am trying to say better.
15) The Moon orbits the Earth once every 27.3 days, yet a Full Moon only occurs about every 29 days. Why are these different?
These are different because the Moon, every month, has to catch up to the moving Earth. The Earth is also moving (rotating and orbiting) while the Moon is doing the same. The Moon must travel slightly more than 360 degrees to get from one new moon phase to the next new moon phase. That's why the lunar month (the synodic month) lasts a little longer than the sidereal month. I agree with a previous student that the animation posted on this website is very helpful to understanding this fact. http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/sidereal.html
16) If you were on a spaceship, following the Earth-Moon system (but not orbiting), would you always see the same side of the Moon? Explain.
No, the rocket would not see the same side of the Moon that people on Earth see. The rocket would see every combination of the Moon's surface when it follows the Moon-Earth orbiting system. I have drawn a picture to show this.
17) In the Earth-centered model of our solar system, Venus is always nearly between the Earth and the Sun (positions 8, 1 or 2 on Figure 2). If this were true, what phase could never occur for Venus?
The full moon, 1st quarter, 3rd quarter, or waxing/waning gibbous phases would never occur for Venus. This is so because Venus is an inferior planet in the Earth-centered model of our solar system.
18) Yes, a superior planet can be seen at midnight.
19) The inferior planets are Mercury and Venus.
20) The superior planets are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
21) Three things that I have learned during this lab are
1. The phases of the moon.
2. Superior and inferior planets do not have the same phases as each other.
3. Why there are not solar and lunar eclipses every time the Moon orbits the Earth.
22) The point of this lab was to learn about the movements of the various planets in our solar system, our Moon's phases and the Moon's orbit. In general, we are supposed to understand more of the details of our how solar system operates after this lab.
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