Transcript Science - Objectives

Moon Phases
• Understand how Moon phases work on
the Earth
• More world building!
• Examples:
– Indigenous religions, local calendars
– Werewolves, spaceflight, tides and ocean
travel
• Bad example: “The Moon told me so.”
Which situation would produce
this phase?
D
A
C
B
Demos
• Three views of Moon Phases:
http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animatio
ns/lunarcycles/moonphases.html
• Moon Phases and where in sky:
http://astro.unl.edu/classaction/animatio
ns/lunarcycles/lunarapplet.html
Cause
=
Sun-Moon-Earth
angles
http://www.astronomy.ohiostate.edu/~pogge/Ast161/Unit2/Images/moonphase.gif
Which situation would produce
this phase?
Western cultures recognize 8 Moon phases, some
spread over multiple nights
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1
Phase cycle takes 29.53 days
Waxing
Crescent
First
Quarter
Waxing
Gibbous
Waning
Gibbous
Full
Last Quarter
(not pictured)
Waning
Crescent
New
Traditional
Hawaiian culture
uses 30 Moon
phases
http://www.imiloah
awaii.org/57/
Bad Example:
“The Moon told me so.”
• In Rise of the Guardians (2012), the
Moon is an important plot element, and
over four days it is Full, Full, Waning
Gibbous, and Full.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Worksheet!
What if there are multiple
moons?
• Each moon would have a different
orbital period
• Each would be at a different angle to
the Sun on a given day
– Each would be in a different phase on the
same day
– The order of phases would be the same
(unless retrograde), but might last for
longer or shorter times
More Misconceptions
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqaD
f2fuUH8
• Tonight is Waning Gibbous, will we see
it?
• Resource: USNO (US Naval
Observatory for Sun/Moon rise/set
times