Lab Act 3 - Moon and History

ASTR 263 Name LAB ACTIVITY 3: Moon, History of Astronomy Part 1 — Moon Phases & Eclipses 1. Go to the website, https://stardate.org/nightsky/moon, “Moon Phase Calculator.” a. What phase is the Moon in today? Half moon (Sept 9) b. Sketch the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth for this phase. Q- c. What phase was the Moon in on your birthday (give the date)? Do this for everyone in your group. June 7". Waning Gibbous d. Sketch the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth for this phase. — -

ASTR 263 Lab Act 3 2. Think about the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth to answer the following. a. Approximately what time will a full moon rise? Explain. The full moon should rise at sunset. It occurs when the moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth, and it sets at midnight. b. Approximately what time will a 1% quarter moon be high in the sky? Explain. A first-quarter moon should also rise at noon and reach its highest point around midnight. This happens when the moon is around 90 degrees from the Sun. 3. Answer the next questions about the relative sizes and distances of the Sun and Moon to see why we are lucky enough to have total solar eclipses! a. The Sun’s radius is 6.96 x 10° meters, while the Moon’s radius is 1.74 x 10° meters. How many times larger is the Sun than the Moon? The Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon. b. The Sun’s average distance from Earth is 1.5 x 10" meters, while the Moon’s average distance from the Earth is 3.8 x 10° meters. How many times farther from the Earth is the Sun than the Moon? The Sun is 394.7 times farther from the Earth than the Moon. c. How do your answers to (a) and (b) compare (that is, what is their ratio)? This is why we have total solar eclipses! A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. It also casts a shadow on the planet. The alignment between the Earth and Sun causes the moon to completely block the Sun's face during a total solar eclipse.

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ASTR 263 Lab Act 3 Part 3 — Planetary Motion 1. Below is a diagram of Planet X’s orbit. a. Label the positions of perihelion and aphelion. Label a focus of the ellipse. b. In which position is the northern hemisphere experiencing winter? What about summer? How can you tell? The diagram shows the planet shown in the right-hand side of the Sun and the planet depicted in the left-hand side of the Sun during the summer season and winter seasons in the northern hemisphere. The movements of the planet during its orbit around the Sun are known to influence the seasons on Earth. For instance, the North Pole of the planet moves toward the Sun as it enters the Northern Hemisphere. c. Which season for the northern hemisphere of Planet X is longer? Why? The winter season in the northern hemisphere is longer, as it occurs when the planet is closest to the Sun. As indicated by Kepler's rule, if a planet is at the Sun's closest distance, it moves faster as it passes through its orbit. This means that Planet X's summer season gets shorter as it passes through the northern hemisphere's Perihelion.