AST1110-lab4
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AST 1110: Planetary Astronomy
Spring 2024
Lab 4 (30 points) Name: Jenna McCarthy
Seasonal Changes and Moon Phases
Learning Goals
Explain how Earth’s motion around the Sun causes seasonal changes
Describe how seasonal changes vary depending on your location on Earth
Describe how the Moon’s motion around Earth causes the Moon’s phase to change
This lab focuses on material from Chapter 4. Use the chapter and Week 4 as a reference but remember to answer all questions in your own words. Part 1: Seasonal Changes
Check out this animation from PBS
about seasonal changes on Earth. 1.
Explain in your own words why Earth has seasonal changes. Earth has seasonal changes due to the rotation of Earth on its axis. 2.
Describe how the sun’s position on the sky changes between December and June for observers in the northern hemisphere. As we move from December to June, the sun seems to rise higher in the sky, and its path appears longer. Conversely, as we move from June to December, the sun seems to lower in the sky, and its path appears shorter.
3.
Explain why the idea that we have summer because Earth is closer to the Sun in its orbit is not correct. This is because the axial tilt of Earth affects the duration and intensity of sunlight that different parts of our planet receive throughout the year. The idea that we have summer because Earth is closer to the Sun in its orbit is not correct due to the way Earth's axial tilt affects the intensity and duration of sunlight that different parts of the Earth receive at different times of the year.
4.
The image below shows a fish-eye view of the Sun’s path across the sky on three different days of the year.
a.
Label which path corresponds to summer solstice.
b.
Label which path corresponds to winter solstice.
c.
Label which path corresponds to vernal equinox.
The image below shows a view looking toward east. The position of sunrise on three different days of the year is shown, as seen from a single location.
5.
a. When is the Sun rising farthest north of east? __
Summer Solstice
____
b. When is the Sun rising farthest south of east? __
Winter Solstice
__ Check out this example sun graph
for Boston, MA. The example does not correspond to
the image below. Use it to visualize what’s going on but answer all questions based on the image below. 2
6.
Based on the image above, during what months of the year is the length of day increasing? From December to June.
7.
Based on the image above, during what months of the year is the length of day decreasing? From June to December.
8.
Is the image above a location in Earth’s northern hemisphere or Earth’s southern hemisphere? Explain how you can tell.
Northern hemisphere because the longest day of the year occurs in June, and the
shortest day of the year occurs in December.
3
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9.
Which of the locations shown above is farthest away from Earth’s equator? Explain how you can tell. Location A is farthest away from the equator, which results in the greatest variation in daylight hours, with very long days in the summer and very short days in the winter.
10.Which of the locations above is in the southern hemisphere? Explain how you
can tell. Location B is in the Southern Hemisphere. This is because the longest days occur around December and the shortest days occur around June, which is 4
opposite of the pattern in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the graph above, the red line indicates temperature (scale on left side) and the
blue bars represent precipitation (scale on right side) for all 12 months of the year
for Denver, Colorado. 11. What month has the overall highest temperatures in Denver? July
12.What month has the overall coldest temperatures in Denver? December
13.In what month does Denver receive the most precipitation?
May
14.Give two specific examples of how the data on the last few pages supports your explanation (from question 1) of why Earth has seasonal changes. 5
Denver's temperature graph shows that July is the warmest month and December
is the coldest. This is due to the Earth's axial tilt, which causes the Northern Hemisphere to tilt towards the Sun in summers, resulting in warmer temperatures, and away in winters, resulting in colder temperatures.
Some of the previous images show longer summer days and shorter winter days due to Earth's tilted axis. It supports seasonal changes caused by varying angles of sunlight and solar energy in the northern hemisphere.
15.Describe how seasonal changes would be different if Earth was tilted at 46 degrees with respect to the Sun. Assume everything else about Earth’s orbit is the same, only the tilt changes.
We would experience extreme temperatures, longer daylight variations, shifts in climate zones, and impacts on ecosystems and agriculture.
Part 2: Lunar Phases
Check out this animation about phases of the moon
. You can click on the moon to change its position in orbit. You can also click on the Earth to rotate the observer. 16.In the example above, is the moon rising or setting? Neither, the moon is neither rising nor setting due to the sun being the highest in the sky at noon.
17.Explain how you can tell from the Sun’s location above that the example represents noon. Because the Sun is at its highest point in the sky.
18.If you are looking down on Earth’s north pole, what direction is the moon’s orbital motion?
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The moon’s orbital motion is counterclockwise. 19. On the left image above, sketch in the location of the observer on Earth and the moon in its orbit for Noon at Third Quarter moon. You are looking down on Earth’s north pole.
20.On the right image above, sketch in the location of the Sun and Moon on the observer’s sky for Noon during Third Quarter moon. J=-
21.On the left image above, sketch in the location of the observer on Earth and the moon in its orbit for sunset during a Full Moon. You are looking down on Earth’s north pole.
22.On the right image above, sketch in the location of the Sun and Moon on the observer’s sky for sunset during a Full Moon. 7
23.How much time passes between one new moon phase and the next new moon? 29.5 days
24.Does the phase of the moon change in a 24 hour period? Explain your answer. The phase of the moon does change every 24 hours, but it is a gradual change that is not easily noticeable to the naked eye from one night to the next. The moon's phases follow a cycle from the new moon to the full moon and then back to the new moon, taking about 29.5 days to complete. Therefore, each night, the moon's appearance undergoes a slight change as it moves through its phases.
25.Explain why we on Earth only see one side of the Moon. The reason why we can only see one side of the Moon from Earth is that
the Moon is tidally locked with our planet. This means that the Moon takes as long to rotate around its axis as it does to orbit around Earth. As a result, the same face of the Moon is always turned towards Earth. 8