Worksheet Phases of moon and planets

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: Aiden Yeruva Section: _______ 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 June 05 June 13 June 21 Moon Distance(km) 395094 km 377023 km 371788 km 409097 km 382569 km Moon Rise 6:27:15 AM 12:45:34 PM 8:49:20 PM 02:06:09 AM 6:31:17 AM Moon Set 8;38:37 PM 1:51:32 AM 6:09:07 AM 01:48 PM 9:25:48 PM Sun Rise 6:23:23 AM 6:20:07 AM 6:18:10 AM 6:17:34 AM 6:18:38 AM Sun Set 8:32:44 PM 8:37:29 PM 8:41:35 PM 8:45:14 PM 8:47:32 PM 1. What is the Moon's synodic period, or the time between two new phases? Between two new phases it takes about 30 days between new phases 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 this is consistent with the synodic period as the new moon comes back right before it hits 30 days. 3. Does the Moon rise earlier or later as it goes through its phases? (Use data to support your answer)

As you go through the phases the moon rises later as it first starts In the morning at 6am and then goes to 12:45 and then 8:49 PM and goes in that cycle. 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) 54 Minutes 5. Does the new moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? Sunrise 6. Does the full moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? Sunset 7. When does the 1st quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? The moon rises midday during the 1 st quarter which is 8 hours before sunset 8. When does the 3rd quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? The moon rises at 2am which is about 5 and ½ hours after sunset 9. Which phase from your table has the moon at the furthest distance from Earth? (give the phase and distance) The 3 rd quarter is the farthest at 409097 km 10. Which phase from your table has the moon at the closest distance to Earth? (give the phase and distance) The full moon is the closest to earth at 3717 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? It is almost in full moon with 96.8% illuminated with a distance of 361315 km. 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? It is almost a new moon with 4.5% illuminated and with a distance of 404765 km. 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. Yes this does correlate with the data from earlier as the full moon was the closest and the new moon was 2 nd farthest with 3 rd quarter being the farthest but not by much. 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. A super moon would’ve appeared closer in 2022 because during the full moon it was closer in 2022 then 2020 because the distance is closer in 2022.

Western Elongation Eastern Elongation Inferior Conjunction Table 3 Date Position Illumination % Phase (aspect) App. Size (arcsec) Mar 26, 2021 Superior Conjunction 100% Full Moon 9.7 Oct 30, 2021 Eastern Elongation 49% Crescent 25.2 Jan 9, 2022 Inferior Conjunction 0.4% New Moon 60 Mar 23, 2022 Western Elongation 51.2% Gibbous 23.7 Oct 23, 2022 Superior Conjunction 100% Full Moon 9.7 21. What is the synodic period of Venus according to your data? (approximate to the nearest month) The synodic period of Venus is around 19 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 greater than the sidereal periods of both Earth and Venus. 23. At what phase (aspect) was the apparent size of Venus the largest? During the new moon on Jan. 9th 24. At what phase (aspect)t was the apparent size of Venus the smallest? It was during the Full Moon phase which happened twice. 25. Describe the relationship between apparent size and distance based on the diagrams. Give at least two examples from your data. They are related because whenever it is in Superior Conjunction the apparent size was the eact same. Also, during eastern and western elongation, the apparent size was almost similar. 26. Does Venus show the same illumination changes and phases as the Moon? Explain Yes, Venus does show the same illumination and phases as the moon because during Venus’s orbit,p it goes through the same full, new, and crescent phases.