Worksheet Phases of moon and planets

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Clemson University *

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1030

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Physics

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Apr 3, 2024

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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: ______ Section: _______ I. Read the background information to familiarize yourself with the terminology used in this lab exercise. II. Lunar Phases Table 1 1. What is the Moon's synodic period, or the time between two new phases? The moons synodic period is the time is about 29 days. (May 22- June 20) 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, because looking at the data May 22 and June 20 are 29 days apart so the result is consistent only about half a day difference for the synodic period(29.5). 3. Does the Moon rise earlier or later as it goes through its phases? (Use data to support your answer) At first, the moon rises earlier, at 6:27 AM in the new moon phase. Then it rises later in the full moon phase, 7:39 PM, then early again for the second new moon, 5:43 AM. First New Moon 1st Quarter Full 3rd Quarter Second New Moon % Illum Moon 0 50 100 50 0 Date May 22, 2020 May 29, 2020 June 4, 2020 June 12, 2020 June 20, 2020 Moon Distance(km) 395094 km 1.32 light sec 367023 km 1.22 light sec 367378 km 1.23 light sec 407548 km 1.36 light sec 387480 km 1.29 light sec Moon Rise 6:27: 15 AM 12:45 :34PM 7: 39: 46PM 1:37: 09 AM 5:43: 28 AM Moon Set 8:38: 37 PM 1:51 :32 AM 5: 25: 17 AM 12: 52: 15 PM 8:27:49 PM Sun Rise 6:23:23 AM 6:20 :07 AM 6:18: 22 AM 6:17: 33AM 6:18: 25 AM Sun Set 8:32: 44 PM 8:37 :29 PM 8: 41: 03 PM 8:44: 51 PM 8:47:20 PM

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) About 54 minutes (average daily change) 5. Does the new moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? Sun rise 6. Does the full moon rise nearest in time to the Sunrise or to the Sunset? Sun set 7. When does the 1st quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? 8 hours before 8. When does the 3rd quarter moon rise in relation to Sunset? 5 hours after 9. Which phase from your table has the moon at the furthest distance from Earth? (give the phase and distance) 3rd Quarter moon, the distance is 407548 km 10. Which phase from your table has the moon at the closest distance to Earth? (give the phase and distance) 1st quarter is the closest, the distance is 367023 km 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? The closest distance the moon gets to Earth is 360316 km in the 3rd Quarter ; it is 99.5% illumination 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? The furthest distance the moon gets from Earth is 402073 km in the New moon phase ; 0.2% illumination 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. No, the phases have no factor on distance, it depends on the orbit/ rotation. By looking at my data, in 2020, 3rd quarter was the furthest and 1st quarter was the closest however in 2022, the New moon was the furthest and the 3rd quarter was the closest. 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. Super moon occurred in June 2022 as the full moon phase at the same time as the smallest distance between Earth and Moon. The distance was 360316 km from Earth(99.5% illumination)

Return to the instruction document to set up the simulation before answering the next set of questions. III. Mars Phases Opposition Eastern Quadrature Western Quadrature Conjunction Table 2 15. What is the Synodic period of mars according to your data? (approximate to the nearest month) About 2 years and 2 months(Oct 2020- Dec 2022) 16. The sidereal orbit of Mars is 587 days and the sidereal orbit of Earth is 365 days. How does the synodic period of Mars compare to these sidereal periods? The sidereal period of Mars is longer than the sidereal period of Earth. Mars has a longer orbit than Earth, so it takes a little bit longer to complete a full orbit. 17. At what phase (aspect) was the apparent size of Mars the largest? Full (October 13, 2020) the size of Mars was the largest : 22.4 arcsec 18. At what phase (aspect) was the apparent size of Mars the smallest? Full (Oct 8, 2021) the size of Mars was the smallest : 3.6 arcsec 19. Discuss the relationship between apparent size and distance between the planets based on the diagram. Give at least two examples from your data. From the two questions above, Mars was both the largest and smallest in different Full phases. It was the largest on October 13, 2020 and the smallest on October 8, 2021. From looking at the example picture, you can see that the opposition is closest to the Earth which makes it the largest arcsec and the conjunction phase is the furthest from the Earth making it the smallest arcsec. 20. Does Mars show a similar change in illumination and phase to the moon? Explain No, Mars does not have the similar phases to the moon because the moon goes through all of the phases in its orbit and Mars only has Full and Gibbous phases over a longer period of time. Date Position Illumination % Phase (aspect) App. Size (arcsec) Oct 13, 2020 Opposition 100 Full 22.4 Feb 1, 2021 Eastern Quadrature 88.6 Gibbous 7.8 Oct 8, 2021 Conjunction 100 Full 3.6 Aug 27, 2022 Western Quadrature 84.9 Gibbous 9.5 Dec 8, 2022 Opposition 100 Full 17

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