Worksheet Phases of moon and planets-Olivia Panzarella.docx

Phases Worksheet These lab activities have evolved over many years of use in Clemson University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy general astronomy laboratory. Contributors include, in chronological order, Tom Collins, Mark Leising, Neil Miller, Peter Milne, Grant Williams, Donna Mullenax, Jessica Crist, Keith Davis, Amber Porter, Steven Bromley, and David Connick. Please direct all questions, complaints, and corrections to David Connick (dconnic@clemson.edu) who is responsible for all errors and omissions. Student Name: ____ Olivia Panzarella ________________________ Section: __ 1 _____ I. Read the background information to familiarize yourself with the terminology used in this lab exercise. II. Lunar Phases Table 1 First New Moon 1st Quarter Full 3rd Quarter Second New Moon % Illum Moon 0 50 100 50 0 Date May 22, 2020 May 29, 2020 June 5, 2020 June 12, 2020 June 20, 2020 Moon Distance(km) 395094 km 367023 km 371788 km 407548 km 387480 km Moon Rise 6:27 AM 12:45 PM 8:49 PM 1:37 AM 5:43 AM Moon Set 8:28 PM 1:51 AM 6:09 AM 12:52 PM 8:27 PM Sun Rise 6:23 AM 6:20 AM 6:18 AM 6:17 AM 6:18 AM Sun Set 8:32 PM 8:37 PM 8:41 PM 8:44 PM 8:47 PM 1. What is the Moon's synodic period, or the time between two new phases? The Moon’s synodic period is 29.5 days. 2. Is this result consistent, within some uncertainty of your measurements, with the known result for the synodic period of 29.5 days? (support your answer with your data) Yes, my measurements are accurate with this data because the period takes about 29 days. 3. Does the Moon rise earlier or later as it goes through its phases? (Use data to support your answer) The moon rises later as it goes through its phases. It starts in the morning and gets later throughout the day each phase.

4. What is the average daily change in the Moon's rising time? (Divide the time between moon rise from the first new moon to the 1 st quarter moon by the number of days between the two phases) The average daily change is 5 hours and 17 minutes. 5. Does the new moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? The new moon rises nearest to the Sunrise. 6. Does the full moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? The full moon rises nearest to the Sunset. 7. When does the 1st quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? The 1st quarter moon rises in the middle of the day at 12:45 PM, about 8 hours before the sunset. 8. When does the 3rd quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? The 3rd quarter moon rises in the middle of the night at 1:37 AM, which is less than 5 hours after the previous sunset. 9. Which phase from your table has the moon at the furthest distance from Earth? (give the phase and distance) The 3rd quarter moon is the furthest with a distance of 407548 km. 10. Which phase from your table has the moon at the closest distance to Earth? (give the phase and distance) The 1st quarter moon is the closest with a distance of 367023 km. Move time forward 2 years to 2022. 11. Step time forward through the phases this time watching the distance. What is the closest distance the moon gets to Earth and what illumination % (and phase) is it in at that distance? The Waning gibbous is closest at 369874 km, illumination at 98% 12. Step time forward through the phases this time watching the distance. What is the furthest distance the moon gets from Earth and what illumination % (and phase) is it in at that distance? The Waxing Crescent is the farthest at 398160 km, with illumination at 37.7% 13. Based on what you saw in terms of distances and phases, do the maximum and minimum distances correlate with any of the 4 main phases? Explain and justify with your data. No, the minimum and maximum distances do not correlate with any of the phases. 14. A super moon is when the moon appears larger and brighter in the sky than normal. Thinking about how closer objects appear larger (the angular size of an object is larger when it is closer), do you think a super Moon occurred in June 2020 or June 2022? Support you answer with your data.

IV. Venus Phases Superior Conjunction Western Elongation Eastern Elongation Inferior Conjunction Table 3 Date Position Illumination % Phase (aspect) App. Size (arcsec) Mar 26, 2021 Superior Conjunction 100% Full 9.7 arcsec Oct 30, 2021 Eastern elongation 49.0% Crescent 25.2 arcsec Jan 9, 2022 Inferior Conjugation 0.4% New 1.0 arcsec Mar 23, 2022 Western elongation 51.2% Gibbous 23.7 arcsec Oct 23, 2022 Inferior 100% Full 9.7 arcsec 21. What is the synodic period of Venus according to your data? (approximate to the nearest month) About a year and 7 months. 22. The sidereal orbit of Venus is 225 days and the sidereal orbit of Earth is 365 days. How does the synodic period of Venus compare to these sidereal periods? The synodic period of Venus is shorter than the sidereal period of Venus but longer than the sidereal period of Earth. 23. At what phase (aspect) was the apparent size of Venus the largest? The New Phase is when Venus is the largest. 24. At what phase (aspect)t was the apparent size of Venus the smallest? The Crescent phase is when Venus is the smallest. 25. Describe the relationship between apparent size and distance based on the diagrams. Give at least two examples from your data. At the largest size, Venus is 39.8 million km away. At the smallest, it is 98.6 million km away. 26. Does Venus show the same illumination changes and phases as the Moon? Explain Yes. As it moves in its orbit and gets closer to aligning with Earth and the Sun, it changes from full to gibbous to crescent, similar to the Moon's phases.