Chapter 4
Earth, Moon, and Sky
Seasons
The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees.
As Earth revolves around the Sun, Earth’s darkened hemisphere faces in a
slightly different direction each night.
• In June, the Northern hemisphere “leans into” the Sun
• In December, the Southern Hemisphere leans into the Sun
• In September and March, the Earth Leans sideways
Seasons
In Summer, the Earth's surface is
heated more effectively by sunlight
because it hits at a more direct
angle.
The length of a Day varies with the
season.
• Duration of daylight is ~ 15
hours long in June
• Duration of daylight is ~ 9.5
hours long in December
The sun heats the surface for a
longer time.
Seasons
The effects of seasons vary depending on
the latitude on Earth.
On the equator:
• all seasons are the same
• The Sun is up half of the day
At the North Pole:
• Sun is above the horizon from
March 21st to September 21st
At the South Pole:
• Sun is above the horizon from
September 22nd to March 20th
Length of a Day
The length of a day is measured in terms of the rotation of the Earth.
• Solar Day: Rotation of Earth with respect to the Sun
• Sidereal Day: Rotation of the Earth with respect to other stars
Solar day is 4 minutes longer than the
sidereal day
Calendar
Functions of a calendar:
1) Must keep track of time over the course of a
long span
2) Muse be useful to a large number of people
• Must use natural time intervals that
everyone agrees upon
Natural unit for our calendar:
• Days are based on the Earth’s rotation
• Months are based on cycles of the Moon’s
phases
• Years are based on the period of Earth’s
revolution around the Sun
Difficulty with the calendar due to natural units do not divide evenly
• Tropical year is 365.2422 days
• Month is 29.5306
Moon
• After the Sun, the Moon is the brightest and the most prominent object in the
sky.
• Moon goes through phases (different appearance)
• It does not shine under its own power but glows with reflected sunlight.
Lunar Phases
• There are 8 phases the moon cycles through
• New Moon
• Waxing crescent
• First quarter
• Waxing gibbous
• Full Moon
• Waning gibbous
• Third quarter
• Waning Crescent
Half of the Moon is always illuminated by the Sun at all times.
Moon’s Revolution and Rotation
The Moon completes one rotation on its axis in the same time it takes to
orbit the Earth, called synchronous rotation.
• Moon always keeps the same face towards the Earth
Moonrise
• The moon does not rise at the same time each day.
• The moon rises 30 to 70 minutes later each day.
Lunar Phase Moonrise Moonset
New Moon Sunrise Sunset
Waxing Crescent Late morning Late evening
First quarter Noon Midnight
Waxing gibbous Afternoon Predawn
Full moon Sunset Sunrise
Waning Gibbous Late evening Late morning
Third quarter midnight noon
Waning crescent predawn afternoon
Moon’s Orbit
• The orbit of the moon is an ellipse.
• It is offset at an angle of 5 degrees.
• Perigee: The Moon is
closest to the Earth and
hence moves faster
• Apogee: The Moon is
further from the Earth and
hence moves slower
Size of the Moon
The size of the moon viewed from the Earth depends on the moon’s
location in its orbit.
• The moon appears bigger when it is closest to the Earth
• The moon appear smaller when it is furthest from the Earth
Lunar Eclipse
• A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon enters the
Earth’s shadow
• A lunar eclipse lasts for about 100 minutes
• During a lunar eclipse, the moon is in the full moon
Solar Eclipse
Solar Eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the Sun
Total Solar Eclipse
• A total eclipse occurs when the moon is at perigee.
• A total solar eclipse lasts for seven minutes
• The phase of the moon during a solar eclipse is the New Moon
Annular Solar Eclipse
• An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is at apogee.
Future eclipses