Phases of the Moon - The Planets - Laboratory | ASTR 105G, Lab Reports of Astronomy

Download Phases of the Moon - The Planets - Laboratory | ASTR 105G and more Lab Reports Astronomy in PDF only on Docsity! Name(s): Date: 3 Phases of the Moon 3.1 Introduction You will need the following materials for this lab: • small spheres (representing the Moon), with two different colored hemispheres. The dark hemisphere represents the portion of the Moon not illuminated by the Sun. • flashlight (representing the Sun) • yourself (representing the Earth, with your nose representing the location of Las Cruces) Work in Groups of Three People! The objective of this lab is to improve your understanding of the Moon phases [a topic that you WILL see on future exams!]. This concept, the phases of the Moon, involves 1. the position of the Moon in its orbit around the Earth, 2. the illuminated portion of the Moon that is visible from here in Las Cruces, and 3. the time of day that a given Moon phase is at the highest point in the sky as seen from Las Cruces. For this lab, you will finish by demonstrating to your instructor that you do clearly under- stand the concept of Moon phases, including an understanding of • which direction the Moon travels around the Earth • how the Moon phases progress from day-to-day • at what time of the day the Moon is highest in the sky at each phase You will use the colored sphere and flashlight as props for this demonstration. Carefully read and thoroughly answer the questions associated with each of the five Exercises on the following pages. [Don’t be concerned about eclipses as you answer the questions in these Exercises]. Using the dual-colored sphere to represent the Moon, the flashlight to represent the Sun, and a member of the group to represent the Earth (with that person’s nose repre- senting Las Cruces’ location), ‘walk through’ and ‘rotate through’ the positions indicated in the Exercise figures to fully understand the situation presented. Each Exercise is worth 10 points. There are additional questions at the end. 25 3.2 Exercise 1 The figure below shows a “top view” of the Sun, Earth, and eight different positions (1-8) of the Moon during one orbit of the Earth. Note that the distances shown are not drawn to scale. Ranking Instructions: Rank (from greatest to least) the amount of the Moon’s entire surface that is illuminated for the eight positions (1-8) shown. Ranking Order: Greatest A B C D E F G H Least Or, the amount of the entire surface of the Moon illuminated by sunlight is the same at all the positions. (indicate with a check mark). Carefully explain your reasoning for ranking this way: 26 3.5 Exercise 4 In the set of figures below, the Moon is shown in the first quarter phase at different times of the day (or night). Assume that sunset occurs at 6 p.m. and that sunrise occurs at 6 a.m. Instructions: Determine the time at which each view of the Moon would have been seen, and write it on each panel of the figure. 29 3.6 Exercise 5 In the set of figures below, the Moon is shown overhead, at its highest point in the sky, but in different phases. Assume that sunset occurs at 6 p.m. and that sunrise occurs at 6 a.m. Instructions: Determine the time at which each view of the Moon would have been seen, and write it on each panel of the figure. 30 3.7 Exercise 6 In the two sets of figures below, the Moon is shown in different parts of the sky and in different phases. Assume that sunset occurs at 6 p.m. and that sunrise occurs at 6 a.m. Instructions: Determine the time at which each view of the Moon would have been seen, and write it on each panel of the figure. 31