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The Motion of the Moon The Moon The Earth, Sun, and Time of Day

The Motion of the Moon The Moon The Earth, Sun, and Time of Day

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Astronomy 310 (Newbury)<br />

May 15, 2007<br />

How Good is <strong>the</strong> Alignment, Anyway<br />

Quantity<br />

Scale to <strong>Moon</strong> head <strong>of</strong> a pin<br />

<strong>Moon</strong> diameter<br />

1<br />

1 mm<br />

<strong>Earth</strong> diameter 3.67 3.67 mm<br />

<strong>Sun</strong> diameter 400.7 400 mm (40 cm)<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>-<strong>Moon</strong> distance 110.6 111 mm (1.1 cm)<br />

<strong>Earth</strong>-<strong>Sun</strong> distance 43 050 43 050 mm<br />

(43 m)<br />

model<br />

Hold <strong>the</strong> head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pin 1.1 cm from <strong>the</strong> head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />

quilt pin. Hold <strong>the</strong>m so <strong>the</strong>y line up with <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sun</strong><br />

circle across/down <strong>the</strong> hall!<br />

Question<br />

How good is <strong>the</strong> alignment, anyway<br />

unbelievable!<br />

I can’t believe it<br />

ever happens!<br />

no wonder lunar<br />

eclipses are rare!<br />

Geez, I couldn’t<br />

even do it!<br />

33<br />

34<br />

Solar Eclipses<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Moon</strong>’s Shadow<br />

Lunar eclipses occur when <strong>the</strong> <strong>Moon</strong> passes into <strong>the</strong><br />

shadow <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Earth</strong>. _____ eclipses occur when <strong>the</strong><br />

______ passes into <strong>the</strong> shadow <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Moon</strong>.<br />

solar corona<br />

prominences<br />

(Espenak)<br />

By remarkable chance,<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Moon</strong> is just <strong>the</strong><br />

right size <strong>and</strong> distance<br />

from <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sun</strong> to almost<br />

perfectly block out <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>Sun</strong>’s disk, revealing<br />

features normally<br />

________ in <strong>the</strong><br />

brightness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sun</strong>.<br />

35<br />

<strong>The</strong> shadow <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Moon</strong> also has a umbra <strong>and</strong><br />

penumbra region. <strong>The</strong> “tip” <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> umbra just barely<br />

________________ <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>Earth</strong>, “painting” a<br />

dark circle on <strong>the</strong><br />

ground that races along<br />

<strong>the</strong> __________at over<br />

1700 km/h. A solar<br />

eclipse never lasts<br />

longer than 7½ minutes<br />

at any location (<strong>and</strong><br />

usually it’s a lot less!)<br />

36<br />

9

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