Lunar Basics Alastair Leith FRAS
All you need to master the basics of our neareast neighbour
Produced by Online Astronomy Society Academy www.onlineastronomycourses.co.uk all rights reserved Cover image taken by the author
All images of the Moon were taken by Alastair Leith FRAS The graphics kindly provided by www.starrynight.com planetarium Software About this booklet I produced this as a means of assisting in the education of my 4 year old Son, Alexander Leith who himself is suffering from Aspergers Syndrome. Like his dad he has an undying passion for the heavens, in particular the Moon. I noted many books i looked at never got to the funamentals which most people want to know about the Moon, key areas, what are they called? What the phases are, and so on. At the end i have included some projects that the reader can use to follow on. This is a work in progress and will likely change as it evolves. I was intending for it to be on one page of A4, but that never happened. Redistribution I am fine with people printinf off copies of this for their workshops providing of course they are not charging for them. I am particularly keen on Home Educators using them as well as regular parents, who would like to learn that bit extra about the Moon, enough to impress people at parties There are tutorials available within Online Astronomy Society Academy which offer training in how to carry out many of the projects here. Hope you enjoy Alastair Leith FRAS July 2014
Lunar Factsheet
Size: 3476 km Distance from Sun: 249,000 kim Orbiatal Period: 28 days
Approximate site of the first lunar landing by Apollo 11 (you can JUST make that out with the naked eye!. Not the actual site though
For many this is the first crater they see, Tycho. This was caused by a massive strike from a meteroite millions of years ago
Even with the naked eye you can make out the dark sea’s (they are not ocean’s though like on Earth!).
Factsheet provided by www.onlineastronomycourses.co.uk
Impress your friends at parties with the below
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1: Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) 2: Mare Foecunditatis (Sea of Fertility) 3: Mare Nectarus: (Sea of Nectar) 4: Mare Tranquility (Sea of Tranquility) 5: Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity) 6: Mare Imbrium (sea of rains) 7: Mare Nubium (sea of clouds 8: Oceanus Procellarium (Sea of Storms) 9: Copernicus (crater) 10: Tycho
Phases of the Moon The Moon orbits the Earth once in 28 days appoximately. As it goes through the cycle you will see different parts of the Moon, going from Full Moon, to New Moon Image courtesy of Starry Night www.starrynight.com
Some images taken by the author, full moon left, Waxing Gibbous, 1st quarter, Crescent Moon. Note there are phases missing, which ones do you think? Imagines courtesy of Alastair Leith See the passes of the Moon to the right. As more of the Lunar surface appears with passing nights we call it WAXING. As more of the surface disappears, we call it the WANING Moon. Image courtesy of Starry Night Pro Software.
Projects you can carry out with the Moon Naked eye? Have sketch of the Moon and compare that to the map at the front of the booklet. What seas can you see? Can you see where Neil Armstrong landed? Binoculars Binoculars too will show more detail of the Moon than the naken eye alone. Take a look over successive nights and see what other features you can see with changing phase. Which phase do you think shows you the most amount? Which shows you the least? Why do you think that is? Small Telescope (60mm upwards) At this level you can start to see some detail on the Moon. Why not see what you can sketch? Craters in particular can look stunning at 1st and 3rd Quarter phases. Got a webcam/ camera? There are several interesting projects you can try if you have a camera. Why not try Taking a few images of the Moon and using image manipulation software like GIMP see what extra detail you can get? See if you name the different craters and features More advanced Why not see if you can take images of different parts of the Moon if you cannot see the entire thing in one frame and make a Mosaic. You will be amazed at the extra detail you will see. Does magnification really count? Why not try taking pictures of the Moon first a) without a barlow b) 2x with a barlow c) with a 3x barlow if you have one. What differences if any do you notice? Lunar Calendar, Why not take successive pictures of the Moon and see if you can make it through the entire lunar cycle. You can then build a montage of them using GIMP or similar software. Try taking images of the Moon at the same phase but different cycles. So maybe take a picture of the 1st quarter. Do you see EXACTLY the same detail in one as the other? YES? take a few more, how does this change? What we hope you will gain from the above projects is an appeciation of our nearest natural neighbour. to understand the phases of the Moon and how they occur. The Moon might look near enough the same from night to night, but each night and each Lunar cycle brings with it subtle changes