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FACTS ABOUT MOON

1. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. 2. Moon Data Nearest Celestial neighbour Egg Shaped 4.5 billion years old Diameter 3476 km or 2150 miles Distance from Earth 384,000 km Moon keeps one face towards the Earth permanently (59 %) Revolves around the Earth and rotates on its own axis. Moon Terms a. Waxing b. Waning disappears c. Gibbous Word "gibbous" means a "swollen on one side. It is the time taken for any object in the solar d. Synodic period. Waxing" means growing and refers to the size of the Waning" means shrinking. When the Moon is said to illuminated part of the moon that is increasing be waning, we see a little less of the Moon each day until it completely

system (not just the Moon) to return to the same position relative to the Sun as seen from Earth. The Moon has a synodic period of 29.5 days i.e. 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds. The Moon returns to its phase during a synodic period so there are 29.5 days between each New Moon (or Full Moon, or Crescent Moon, etc.). Also, one "Moon day" equals 29.5 (Earth) days. We use the Moon's synodic period to calculate when it will go through its phases. We also use synodic period of the Moon to predict tidal effects. e. Normal (SIDEREAL) period. The time it takes an object to complete one revolution with respect to the stars is called a SIDEREAL period. The Moon has a sidereal period of 27.3 days (27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes and 12 seconds) and a synodic period of

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2 29.5 days. The Earth has a SIDEREAL period of 365.25 days but it doesn't have a SYNODIC period. f. This longer period is referred as the LUNAR month or SYNODIC period (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds). g. Moon rises in the East and sets in the West. h. Blue Moons. When a month has two full moons, the second is often called a Blue Moon. i. Moon rise times (1) The New Moon always rises at sunrise. (2) The first quarter Moon rises at noon. (3) The Full Moon rises at sunset. (4) The last quarter Moon rises at midnight. (5) Moonrise takes place about 50 minutes later each day than the day before 3. Moon Facts a. Earth revolves around the Sun taking an entire year to complete one revolution. We have our daily night and day because the Earth rotates - one rotation taking 24 hours. We see the night sky when our part of the Earth faces away from the Sun. b. The Moon produces no light of its own. It merely reflects the sunlight. Therefore, at any one time the Moon (like the Earth) has a night side and a day side that depends upon the position of the Sun. We can see the Moon only from the Earth and as the Moon orbits the Earth its position with respect to the Sun changes. That is what causes the various phases of the Moon. c. Moon orbits the earth counterclockwise (anticlockwise). That's also the same direction as the Earth's spin and the same direction as the Earth's orbit.

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3 d. Moon is "new" when it is between the Earth and the Sun. The New Moon rises and sets along with the Sun at about the same time. Since the New Moon has its shadowed face towards us we don't see the New Moon very well and for all practical purposes the New Moon is "invisible". It is interesting to note that the New Moon's far side (the "dark side") is fully in the sunlight! e. A few days later the Moon has moved and a sliver of the Moon's Earth side ("our side") is illuminated by the sunlight. This produces a Crescent Moon soon after sunset. A Crescent Moon also occurs during the opposite part of its orbit - before sunrise in the east. f. If observed carefully on a clear night one can actually see that the rest of the Crescent Moon (very dimly lit). This is caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth and shining on the Moon, and then shining back down to Earth where we can see it. This light is called Earthshine and it causes a nice glow. g. Rotation of moon. The same side of the Moon always faces the Earth. The Moon's rotation period is synchronous with its revolution period around the Earth. h. Change of distance. Because of a loss of orbital energy to gravity from the Earth, the Moon is very gradually moving away from the Earth. In the very early history of the Earth, the Moon looked about 3 times larger in apparent size in the sky, because it was closer to the Earth. i. Lunar atmosphere. surface. The Moon has almost no atmosphere, because of its weak gravity. All types of gas will escape from its

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4 Without an atmosphere, there is no wind or water erosion. The Moon's surface is about the same now as it was 3 billion years ago. The astronauts' footprints remain unchanged on the Moon's surface. The footprints should last at least 10 million years. j. Temperatures on the moon. The surface temperature fluctuates from roughly +300 F during the 2 week daytime to -270 F during the 2 week night. This is because there is not enough atmosphere to keep the Moon warm at night, nor protect it from the Sun's rays in the daytime. k. Size comparison. The volume of the Earth's moon is the same as the volume of the Pacific Ocean. l. Lunar magnetic field. The Moon has no global magnetic field. You can not use a compass to find your direction. m. Calculation of the Easter date. Easter is the first Sunday after the first Saturday after the first full moon after the equinox. (The equinox (either of the two annual crossings of the equator by the Sun) is quite often March 21, but can also occur on the March 20 or 22.) n. Tides and the moon. The moon causes many of the tides in the Earth's oceans. This is because of the gravity force between the Earth and Moon. At full Moon and new Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up, producing the higher than normal tides (called spring tides, for the way they spring up). When the Moon is at first or last quarter, smaller neap tides form. o. Sun and Moon Eclipses. An eclipse of the Sun can occur only at New Moon, while an eclipse of the Moon can occur only at Full Moon.

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5 Moon Quarters Calculations 4. a. Procedure Lunar date on any solar date is achieved by adding fol:(1) Epact of that year (from table) (2) Month code (3) Date b. (from table) (solar date)

Epact fig + Month Code + Date (1) If answer is less than 30, it is lunar date (2) If it is more than 30 subtract 30 and answer will be lunar date (3) Method may have an error of + 1 c. Epact. Is no of days by which a SOLAR year exceeds LUNAR year

(1) Epact of a year is achieved by adding 11 in the epact of previous year (2) If answer is more than 30, then 30 is subtracted and remainder is taken as epact d. Example To find LUNAR date on 21 March 2005 Year epact is = 16 Month code is = 1 Date is = 21 Adding above = 16 + 1 + 21= 38 Subtracting 30 38 - 30 =8 LUNAR date on 21 March 2005 is 7th 5. Moon Quarters Age of Moon 1- 7 8 15 16 22 23 29 6. Epact Year Chart Quarters 1st 2ND 3RD 4TH Shape D O O D Angle Sun/ Moon 0-90 90-180 180-270 270-360 Waxing / Waning Waxing Waxing Waning Waning

a. b. c. d. e. f. g.

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6 Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 7. Month Code Chart Month March April May June July August 8. Moon Quarters * * a. The New Moon always rises at sunrise. The Full Moon rises at sunset. FIRST QTR (1st to 7th Day) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) b. It is this position and time, when Earth, Sun and Moon are roughly aligned The first quarter Moon rises at noon Remains in the sky at last light Duration in sky after last light prolonged by 50 minutes per day Moon setting time after last light Size waxes from hair line crescent to half moon Code 1 2 3 4 5 6 Month September October November December January February Code 7 8 9 10 11 12 Epact Calc 10 10 + 11 = 21 21 + 11 = 32 30 = 2 2 + 11 = 13 13 + 11 = 24 24 + 11 = 35 30 = 5 5 + 11 = 16 16 + 11 = 27 27 + 11 = 38 30 = 8 8 + 11 = 19 19 + 11 = 30 30 + 11 = 41 30 = 9 Epact Fig Remarks 10 21 2 13 24 5 16 27 8 19 30 9

SEC QTR (8TH to 15th (Full Moon))

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7 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) c. Sun, Earth and Moon will be at right angles Moon appears at sunset Moon setting time about midnight Each night it will rise and set 50 minutes late Size waxes from half moon to bulging half moon and finally to full moon Light available from last light to well past mid night (16th to 22th Day)

3rd QTR (1) (2) (3) (4)

Rises time after last light, becomes late daily by 50 minutes and approaches mid night Setting time approaches towards and up to first light Shape wanes from full moon to near half Light available for later the part of night (23rd to New Moon)

d.

4th QTR (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

The last quarter Moon rises at midnight Rise time after mid night becomes late daily by 50 minutes Setting time crosses first light Shape wanes from half moon to hair line crescent with hardly any brightness First half of night is dark and light is available up to first light

9.

Effects on Operations a. b. c. d. e. Can detect moving Infantry at 600-800 m in full moon Difficult to detect stationary targets beyond 1000-1200 m Arty observer can not give observed fire unless ranges are close Moon renders little help in 1st and last quarter In 3rd quarter, as moon rises after midnight, move is possible in hours of darkness

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8 10. Phenomenon of Tidal Waves The Sun is much further away from us

than the Moon but the Sun is also much, much bigger (more massive) than the Moon. The net effect is that the Sun's pull adds a tiny tug to the tides. a. When the Moon and Sun line up with the Earth their gravitational pulls combine together producing excessively high tides called spring tides. This has nothing to do with spring seasons and is just an unfortunate

name. Spring tides occur during each Full Moon or New Moon and the Sun's extra tug increases the tidal fluctuation by about a third. b. Conversely, when the Sun and Moon form a right angle with the Earth, the Sun's gravitational pull on the oceans minimizes the effect of the Moon's pull to cause weak tidal fluctuations called neap tides. These occur when the Moon is in its quarters. New Moon. Moon Phases Revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes

the Moon appear as if it is changing shape in the sky. This is caused by the different angles from which we see the bright part of the Moon's surface. These are called "phases" of the Moon. Of course, the Moon doesn't generate any light itself; it just reflects the light of the Sun. The Moon passes through four major shapes during a cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days. The phases always follow one another in the same order.

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9 Waxing Crescent Moon "Waxing" means growing and refers to the size of the illuminated part of the moon that is increasing.

First Quarter Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon (Growing)

Full Moon. The full moon occurs when the Moon lies on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun. The moon as seen from the surface of the earth is fully illuminated by the sun at this time, presenting a "full" round disc to viewers on earth. As always, only half the total surface of the moon is illuminated. A full moon is the only time when a lunar eclipse is possible; at that time the moon may move through the shadow cast by the earth. However, because of the tilt of the moon's orbit around the earth relative to the earth's orbit around the sun, the moon may pass above or below the shadow, so a lunar eclipse does not occur at every full moon. Full moons are generally a poor time to conduct astronomical observations, since the bright reflected sunlight from the moon overwhelms the dimmer light from stars Waning Gibbous Moon. Waning" means shrinking. When the Moon is said to be waning, we see a little less of the Moon each day until it completely disappears when the Moon is New Last Quarter Moon

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10 Waning Crescent Moon. In the northern hemisphere, if the

right side of the Moon is dark, the light part is shrinking: the Moon is waning (moving towards a new Moon). If the left side is dark, the Moon is waxing (moving towards a full Moon). The acronym mnemonic "DOC" represents this ("D" is the waxing Moon; "O" the full moon; and "C" the waning moon). In the Southern hemisphere, this is reversed, and the mnemonic is "COD".

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