PHASES OF THE MOON

- THE APPARENT SHAPE OF THE MOON DEPENDS ON THE CHANGING RELATIVE POSITIONS OF THE EARTH, SUN AND MOON.

-COMPLETE ORBIT OF THE MOON AROUND THE EARTH- 27 DAYS

-COMPLETE CYCLE OF MOON PHASES- 29 1/2 DAYS (IT HAS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE EARTH’S MOVEMENT AROUND THE SUN

-WHEN THE MOON’S POSITION IS OPPOSITE THE SUN WE SEE A FULLY LIGHTED MOON- FULL MOON

-WHEN MOON AND SUN ARE ON THE SAME SIDE OF THE EARTH, THE MOON’S DARK FACE FACES THE EARTH- “NEW MOON”

-IF THE POSITIONS OF THE SUN AND THE MOON ARE 90O APART, HALF THE MOON IS LIT AND HALF IS IN SHADOW- QUARTER MOON

The Moon's unilluminated side is facing the Earth. The Moon is not visible (except during a solar eclipse).

NEW MOON -

The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

Waxing Crescent:

One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

FIRST Quarter -

The Moon appears to be more than one-half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing.

Waxing Gibbous -

The Moon's illuminated side is facing the Earth. The Moon appears to be completely illuminated by direct sunlight.

FULL Moon -

The Moon appears to be more than one-half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

Waning Gibbous -

One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

LAST Quarter -

The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing.

Waning Crescent -

ECLIPSES OF THE MOON AND SUN

* THE EARTH AND THE MOON ARE LIGHTED BY THE SUN AND THEREFORE CAST SHADOWS INTO SPACE

ECLIPSE OF THE MOON (lunar eclipse)-THE FULL MOON MOVES INTO

THE EARTH’S SHADOW

-MOON TURNS A COPPERY RED

-WE CAN STILL SEE THE MOON BECAUSE SUNLIGHT IS BENT BY THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

MOON USUALLY PASSES ABOVE OR BELOW THE SHADOW OF THE EARTH

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN (solar eclipse)

-OCCURS WHEN THE NEW MOON BRIEFLY MOVES IN FRONT OF THE SUN.

-BECAUSE OF THE TILT OF THE MOON, WE DO NOT HAVE A SOLAR ECLIPSE AT EACH NEW MOON

THE TIDES-CAUSED BY THE GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION OF THE MOON AND THE SUN-THE SUN AND THE MOON PULL ON THE WATER AND SOLID PORTIONS OF THE EARTH

- THE FULL MOON CAUSES THE LARGEST TIDE OF THE MONTH-THE NEW MOON CAUSES THE SMALLEST TIDE OF THE MONTH

http://aa.usno.navy.mil/graphics/Moon_movie.gif

MOON MOVIE

THE FORCE OF GRAVITY

GRAVITY:

FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN OBJECTS

-DEPENDS ON THE MASS OF THE OBJECTS AND THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM

-MOVING FARTHER AWAY FROM EARTH WILL MAKE YOUR WEIGHT LESS (MORE DISTANCE FROM EARTH)

GRAVITY AND PLANETS

-GRAVITY HOLDS PLANETS AND OTHER OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN THEIR ORBITS

SATELLITE: ANY OBJECT THAT ORBITS ANOTHER OBJECT IN SPACE

-THE EARTH IS A SATTELITE OF THE SUN-THE MOON IS A SATTELITE OF THE EARTH

-SATTELITES CLOSER TO THE SUN WILL REVOLVE FASTEST IN THEIR ORBITS THAN THOSE FARTHER AWAY (GREATER GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION)

HOW A SATTELITE MOVES IN ITS ORBIT DEPENDS ON TWO FACTORS1) GRAVITY

2)INERTIA:THE TENDENCY OF AN OBSJECT TO MOVE WITH THE SAME SPEED AND THE SAME DIRECTION

PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM

TERRESTIAL(ROCKY) PLANETS:-EARTH WITH A MEAN DENSITY

OF 5.5G/CM3 IS THE DENSEST OF THE ROCKY PLANETS

-MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS

                                                                                         

GAS GIANTS:-JUPITER, SATURN, URNAUS AND NEPTUNE-MOSTLY MADE UP OF COMPRESSED GASSES-LIQUID OR ROCKY CORE

-4 TO 11 TIMES GREATER THAN THE EARTH IN DIAMETER

THE EARTH IS UNIQUE!

-ONLY PLANET THAT HAS ABUNDANT LIQUID WATER

--> MOONS OF JUPITER HAVE LIQUID WATER BUT ONLY IN THE FORM OF ICE

--> MARS SHOWS EVIDENCE OF EROSION BY WATER BUT IT IS NO LONGER PRESENT

-THE EARTH HAS ABUNDANT O2

ORBITS

ELLIPSE: THE SHAPE OF THE ORBITS THE PLANETS TAKE AROUND THE SUN

LOOK LIKE FLATTENED CIRCLES

HAS TWO CENTERS CALLED FOCI*

-CLOSER THE FOCI ARE TOGETHER, THE MORE CIRCULAR THE ELLIPSE-FARTHER THE FOCI ARE APART, THE MORE ELONGATED THE ELLIPSE

ECCENTRICITY:

LENGTH OF THE MAJOR AXIS

DISTANCE BETWEEN THE FOCI

ASTEROIDS,METEORS,AND COMETS

-ALL ARE SATELLITES OF THE SUNASTEROIDS:

-ROCKY OBJECTS LOCATED IN A BELT BETWEEN THE ORBITS OF MARS AND JUPITER

-RANGE FROM PEBBLE SIZED TO 600 MILES ACROSS

METEORS:-SMALL SOLID PARTICLES FROM SPACE THAT ARE CAUGHT BY THE EARTH’S GRAVITY

-CREATE BRIGHT STREAKS AS THEY FALL THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE (BURNING)

COMETS:

-ICY OBJECTS, ORIGINATING IN REGIONS OUTSIDE OF PLANETS

-SOME COME CLOSE TO THE SUN AND ARE PARTIALLY VAPOSRIZED BY THE HEAT

-THIS CREATES THE “TAIL” THAT CAN SOMETIMES BE SEEN IN THE NIGHT SKY

THE SUN COMPARED WITH OTHER STARS

-THE SUN IS BY FAR THE NEAREST STAR TO EARTH

-SIMILAR TO MANY STARS IN THE UNIVERSE

-APPEARS LARGE BECAUSE IT IS THE CLOSEST STAR TO EARTH

GALAXIES OF STARS

GALAXY:

HUGE BODY OF STARS AND OTHER MATTER IN SPACETHE SUN IS ONE OF ROUGHLY

1,000,000,000 STARS IN THE MILKY WAY

-OUR GALAXY IS THE MILKY WAY GALAXY

-LARGE RELATIVELY EMPTY SPACES IN BETWEEN GALAXIES

THE SIZE OF THE UNIVERSE

LIGHT YEAR:-DISTANCE LIGHT CAN TRAVEL IN ONE YEAR. ABOUT 10 TRILLION KM.

-UNIVERSE IS THOUGHT TO BE ABOUT 25 BILLION LIGHT YEARS IN DIAMETER

-LIGHT TRAVELS AT 186,000 MILES PER SECOND

MILKY WAY GALAXY

ANDROMEDA GALAXY

EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE

RED SHIFT:-PROPOSED BY EDWARD HUBBLE- LIGHT REACHING EARTH FROM DISTANT GALAXIES SHIFTED TOWARD RED END OF THE SPECTURM (LONG WAVE)-SUGGESTS DISTANT GALAXIES ARE MOVING AWAY FROM US CLOSE TO THE SPEED OF LIGHT

RED SHIFTED