Category: Moon

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Train your Brain – See the shape of the solar system

Physical Astronomy by Daniel Cummings.

Train your Brain - See the solar system disk

See the solar system from Earth

Most people, when they look up at the night sky can easily see stars and identify some familiar groups of stars (asterisms and constellations). Some people can even find and name some planets – Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are all bright and easy to see.

But, there are many invisible wonders in the sky – and some of them can be seen without a telescope. In fact they are so big that a telescope is not the right tool to use; we have to use something even more powerful… imagination!

Using visualization and imagination, I am going to show you how to find and “see” a very large structure in our sky: the solar system disk itself.

Click here to continue reading…

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The Moon Dance – Learn Moon Phases

PHYSICAL ASTRONOMY BY DANIEL CUMMINGS

The moon dance helps you learn and understand the phases of the moonLearn the Moon phases by doing an easy dance.

At sunset.

Face the sun.

Point your right hand toward the Sun.

Now point your left hand toward the Sun.

Both hands should be pointing at the sun.

Now, turn a little bit to the left, keeping both hands pointing at the sun.

Swing your left arm out until it is pointing in the opposite direction from the sunset. Bring your hands together again and repeat this swinging motion.

Bring your hands together again and point them both at the sun. This time, instead of swinging, bounce your left hand, leftward, some number of times… (14 is perfect if you can do it) …until it is pointing in the completely opposite direction from the Sun at sunset. Your left hand should now be pointing East.

Was the moon at any one of those 14 hand bounce spots? That is the age of the moon in days.

Please post your questions in the comments!

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The Moon Moves Toward the Dawn – a Mnemonic

The moon moves toward the dawn

Memorize this mnemonic: The moon moves toward the dawn. This phrase describes the day-by-day movement of the moon. With this simple phrase, you can understand the phases of the moon. You will actually begin to see the moon’s beautiful orbit traced out in the sky.

Repeat. The moon moves toward the dawn. The moon moves toward the dawn. 

The moon moves toward the dawn.
It rises higher in the dusky sky after each day. It sweeps over the hills.
It circles and rolls. It transits. It leaves the Sun, then chases the Sun.
The moon moves toward the dawn.
Look East! That’s where the moon wants to go.
Once arrived, it crosses the face of the Sun and once again moves toward the dawn.
The moon moves toward the dawn.

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