The Moon: When Will It Pop Up Next?

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21. The Moon: When Will It Pop Up Next?
T
he Moon appears at seemingly random times. Just when you least expect it, there it is! This would make you believe that one cannot predict when the Moon is going to appear. In actuality, the rising of the Moon is quite predictable, as is its phase, such as a crescent or a quarter Moon.
When we say the Moon is rising, it is actually the Earth that is turning and bringing the Moon into view. So, say on day one the Moon rises at 6 A.M. What time will it rise on day two? The Moon moves in an eastward direction, 360 degrees once around the Earth every 30 days and therefore, 12 degrees every day. On day two, the Earth has to rotate an additional twelve degrees to catch up with the Moon. How long does it take to rotate 12 degrees? The Earth turns 360 degrees every 24 hours, so it turns at 15 degrees an hour. If one hour is 15 degrees, 12 degrees is 50 minutes. So on average, each day the Earth has to turn an additional 50 minutes for the Moon to rise. On our day two, the Moon will rise at approximately 6:50 A.M and day 3, at 7:40 A.M. And so it progresses through the month until day 31, when we are back where we started on day 1 at 6 A.M.

22. Meteors and Meteor Showers
W
hat could be more exciting than a bright meteor on a moonless …show more content…

The most remarkable feature of this effect is the midnight Sun: the fact that on certain parts of the Earth, the Sun does not set for months at a time. This can be explained by a simple diagram. The Earth’s axis is tilted by 23.5 degrees to its orbit (see diagram). Note that the Earth’s axis points toward the star, Polaris, always. So as the Earth orbits the Sun, the axis always points in the same direction. This means that the North Pole is tipped toward the Sun in one season and away from the Sun in another. In June the North Pole is tipped toward the Sun, and in December it is tipped

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