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The Moon and Tides Observation Essay

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An observation of the Moon was conducted from Friday, November 8, 2013 to Thursday, November 14, 2013. The study of the Moon during this period occurred consistently between the hours of 8 and 9 p.m. EST within the Northern Hemisphere at 37.3346° N, 79.5228° W (Bedford, V.A.). The Moon was noted to be illuminated on the right side and had a dark shadow on the left side indicating a waxing phase. The light region grew over the surface of the Moon with each subsequent night. The first night’s phase was waxing crescent with over 25 percent of the Moon lit up. The next night, the light had grown to cover more of the Moon as it continued through its waxing crescent phase. On November 10th, the Moon exhibited traits of being at first-quarter or …show more content…

The new moon is the first phase of the lunar cycle. It occurs when the Moon and Sun are lined up on the same side of the Earth so that the moon is not visible from Earth. Next, the waxing crescent moon phase is displayed whereby the Moon’s surface is less than half lit up. The word waxing means that the light side of the Moon is moving towards the full moon phase. A person viewing the Moon from the Northern Hemisphere will see a waxing moon if any portion of the left side of the Moon is dark and the right side is illuminated. If the Moon is observed on consecutive nights during the waxing phase, they will notice that the light section of the Moon is actually growing during this phase. The next phase is the first quarter moon, which is often referred to as a half-moon because half of the Moon, the right side, is illuminated. The phrase first quarter is not used to describe the shape of the Moon but is used to express that the Moon has completed a quarter of its orbit around the earth. At this point, the Sun and Moon are at a 90-degree angle in relation to the earth. Next in the moon cycle is the waxing gibbous which is characterized by more than half of the Moon being illuminated and the left portion of the Moon displaying a smaller shadow area.
The full moon follows the waxing gibbous phase and is the easiest phase to recognize because the moon is at its fullest illumination in the night

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