Questions tagged [the-moon]
Questions regarding Earth's only natural satellite. For questions about the natural satellites of other planets, use the tag [natural-satellite].
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How long does lunar opposition surge last? Are there measurements of the full Moon getting suddenly brighter?
Wikipedia's opposition surge is a short article and forwards shadow hiding and coherent backscattering as proposed mechanisms, but it doesn't really explain how much the brightness of the Moon ...
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Is the full moon full everywhere on the planet?
When the moon is full, fully lit by the sun, will it appear full everywhere on the planet?
E.g. if I where to set the date for the next three full moons for say: Sweden, Bali and Seattle how ...
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lunar calendar accuracy for predicting new moons
I wonder, how accurate the lunar calendar is?
Can we predict the new moons precisely for tens of years in future?
If we know all factors that affects the movement of the moon, then why it is not ...
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The RA and Dec of lunar poles
The moon faces the earth with one fixed side. However there is a small vibration.
So I am not sure the south and north poles of the moon is fixed. Even if they are fixed points on the moon, the pole ...
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Could an asteroid knock the moon out of its orbit?
As describe in this CNN article, an asteroid is going to pass near the Earth on Halloween.
The article says that
As it misses Earth by about 300,000 miles (slightly farther away than the moon), ...
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Temporary family member 2020-CD3
So, recently I came to know that this asteroid is orbiting Earth from past 3 years and still it is orbiting. It is kind of a mini Moon to the Earth know to have come from asteroid-belt.
Is there ...
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How can the next supermoon be analytically predicted?
The lunar motion can be predicted with basic celestial mechanics, but the perigee and apogee are not always the same, basically because the attraction of the Sun makes some oscilations in the semi-...
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Why does the moon not leave its orbit around the earth due to the gravitational force from the sun? [duplicate]
See additional information below added after the answer to the question.
When the moon is between the earth and the sun, the gravitational force on the moon from the sun is greater than the ...
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Do we know the fluctuations and constant temperature depth of the moon?
Disclaimer: I have no formal scientific training.
From what I understand, surface temperature effects on Earth extend only so far into the ground so that at a certain depth the temperature remains ...
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How does one go about submitting a name for a newly-discovered lunar crater?
Suppose I discover an uncatalogued crater on the lunar surface, and decide to name it. How would I submit my proposed name to the IAU?
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why hasn't Nasa gone back to our Moon? [closed]
why has not Nasa gone back to our Moon since the first landing on the moon
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Lunar terminator illusion
Sometimes, you can see the Moon high in the night sky, which is illuminated from the side where Sun goes down but slightly from above. It is paradoxical when Sun hangs at the lower level above the ...
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What makes the moon, a super moon
Caught a sight of moon tonight (by chance) and came in surprise that moon looks thrice in size to its usual size.
Mostly called as Blue moon. Didn't succeed in getting the details and explanations ...
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How to calculate declination of Moon?
Is there any way to calculate declination of Moon for any day?I'll subtract inclination of Earth on the ecliptic from the result. I'll get Moon's the shortest angular distance from Sun.
Thanks for all ...
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Right Ascension to Zodiac House
At the moment (01-04-2020 09:36) the Moon is situated in Gemini:
"The Moon is currently in the constellation of Gemini. The current Right Ascension is 06h 37m 56s and the Declination is +23° 42' 09”."...
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Is the Moon only 60x60 pixels?
In doing research on vision, I have learned that "20/20" vision corresponds to a visual acuity of being able to resolve details 1 arcminute in size, that most people have around 20/15 vision,...
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Why is moon light not the same color as sunlight?
The light from the moon is light being reflected from the sun. The sun, in space, is white. But on Earth, when the light is filtered through an atmosphere, the light appears yellow. So then, why is ...
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Is it possible to achieve a stable "selenostationary" orbit around the Moon?
Is there a stable geostationary orbit around the Moon?
My feeling is, that the orbit would collide with Earth, because of the Moon's slow rotation.
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Can the moon appear to be in any position in the sky?
It seems to me that the Moon has appeared in many locations - apparent locations - in the 'dome of the sky'. I know that the Sun follows an arc from east to west and that the arc is smaller in winter ...
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Is it a coincidence that on the far side of the moon almost no seas are visible?
Sorry for the maybe too large pictures. They do make the surface structures of both sides of the moon visible though. Is it just a coincidence that on the side facing us is so much sea is visible?
It ...
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If the Moon were impacted by a suitably sized meteor, how long would it take to impact the Earth?
An answer to the question of How well would the Moon protect the Earth from a Meteor? mentions as a possibility that the Moon could get knocked into the Earth.
What is the smallest change to the ...
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Can the Moon eclipse Venus?
The title basically says it all. As seen from the Earth, is it possible for the Moon to eclipse Venus (or any other planet) or are the orbits inclined such that this never happens?
If such an eclipse ...
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Puzzling quotes from astronauts about earth size
I have no doubt that we have been to the moon. This question has nothing to do with a moon landing hoax. But, there are two quotes from two different astronauts regarding the size of the earth as ...
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Do other planets in our solar system experience eclipses or is this unique to Earth?
Here on Earth we get to experience lunar and solar eclipses. Is this pure coincidence that everything happens to line up?
Do other planets in the solar system experience this phenomenon or is this ...
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Is there any telescope on Earth that can see the lunar rovers on the moon?
If I have the right numbers, it seems to me that even Hubble telescope might barely be able to make out a carcass of a blue whale on the surface of the moon, which puts objects as small as the lunar ...
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Does the Moon have any oxygen in its atmosphere?
Since the moon has gravity, it's almost impossible that there aren't some gasses trapped on the surface by the moon's gravity. Has any free-floating oxygen been found on the Moon? If so, in what ...
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Why would the side of the moon that faces earth be as dark as the far side of the moon?
Somebody suggested that the side of the moon that always faces the earth is as dark as the far side of the moon, but is that really the case? Doesn’t earth-shine make the earth-facing side of the moon ...
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How does the earth cast straight and reversed shadows on the moon?
When the Earth regularly casts a shadow on the moon, why does the shadow progress from circular to a straight line and then to a reversed circle?
Since the earth is a sphere, shouldn't it cast round ...
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Can large scientific telescopes observe the Moon without being damaged?
When I look at the full Moon through my 10cm telescope, it is so bright that it hurts. Can large scientific telescopes observe the moon at all? Does that require special protection equipment? Or ...
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How does the Moon look like from different latitudes of the Earth?
I have heard, that on the northern hemisphere, you can estimate a direction of south if you imagine a line going through the tips of the border between illuminated and shadowed part of the Moon, and ...
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Why is the Earth-Moon distance not the same at each perigee/apogee?
I wonder why the Earth-Moon distance is not the same at each perigee/apogee. Isn't the Moon's orbit a fixed ellipse with Earth at one of the foci? If it is so, shouldn't the distance at perigee/apogee ...
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How does moonrise/moonset azimuth vary with time?
In my tenacious attempts to observe moonrise (surprisingly difficult in a poor weather heavily urbanized hilly area with frequent bad smog, with busy work schedule and a bicycle) I was frequently ...
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Why does the Moon seem larger when it is close to the horizon? [duplicate]
I've noticed that when I look into the sky at night, sometimes the moon appears very large near the horizon. Sometimes it also looks like it has a yellow tint.
Is this the light rays bouncing off ...
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Why does the darkening of the Moon go from left-to-right during an eclipse?
In anticipation of the upcoming April 2014 lunar eclipse, I decided to use the 3D virtual planetarium software Stellarium to simulate what it is supposed look like where I live, since I've never ...
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Why can I see sometimes a horizontal half moon instead of a vertical one?
Why do I sometimes see a horizontal half moon, instead of the more usual vertical one? I keep getting answers for crescent moons, but this is a half moon with its curve closer to the horizon, like a ...
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Using parallax to find distance to the moon
I want to use the parallax method (from scratch) to find the distance between the earth and the moon. To get a significant parallax, I need to choose a large baseline. I live in India and my friend in ...
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Why does the Moon never set in Svalbard, Norway?
I heard in a documentary that, in Svalbard (Spitsberg), Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, the Moon never sets. Why? A drawing would certainly help.
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How well would the Moon protect the Earth from an Asteroid?
Would the Earth fare better if the Moon blocked the meteor, comet, rogue planet, or otherwise rather than a direct impact? At what point would the Moon's debris would be an extinction event?
The ...
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What is the angular diameter of Earth as seen from the Moon?
...today I must have left my brain home. I know it's a simple calculation but I keep failing simplest calculations today.
What is the angular diameter of Earth as seen from the surface of the Moon?
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Why does the planet Saturn have numerous (62) moons compared to the rest of the planets in the Solar System?
Saturn is a gas giant like Jupiter. It has everything from
tiny moonlets less than 1 kilometer across to the enormous Titan, which is larger than the planet Mercury. Saturn has 62 moons with ...
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Is it possible for a person to not see the new moon at different places on earth?
It is known that theoretically we see the same moon phase everywhere on the earth, but practically I see that people are unable to observe the 0.8% waxing crescent at different places on earth. This ...
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The moon in the first phase visible in the sky is tilted
I never noticed it before that moon I see in the sky is tilted. Does the tilt of the moon in the sky indicate the direction of the Earth's axis and direction of Earth's rotation around the sun?
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From which country or area is the new moon visible first?
Being able to see the Moon is dependant on various factors like sunset timing etc. Considering all these factors, which country or area of the world sees the new moon first? I am asking about the new ...
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How to send information from the far side of the Moon to the Earth?
Chang-E has just sent a shot after landing on the far side of the moon. It looks tricky, how can a device send information from a place that is oriented opposed to Earth?
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What range of exit pupils work for observing the full moon?
I'm observing the full moon, from a major city, with heavy light pollution and dust.
The objective size is fixed, for this comparison, something between 4 and 6 inches. The question is about the ...
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Are lunar phases and lunar standstills in sync with each other?
Do either of the standstills (N/S) coincide with full/new moon?
If yes - what is the relationship?
If no - what factors impact the relationship between the two?
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The moon rises at a different time each day, but that difference changes. Why?
Let's say the moon rose at 5pm yesterday and 5:30pm today. The difference is 30 minutes – but that difference changes from day to day and can be anywhere between twenty-some to seventy-some minutes. ...
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Does lack of atmosphere on the moon make earth-shine more, or less, bright?
The earth acts like a light-globe in the sky for half of the moon, the side that is facing the earth. In what way does lack of moon atmosphere influence earth-shine. Does it make earth-albedo brighter,...
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Planets positions (azimuth, altitude) API
I'm looking for a simple API that will allow me to get positions of planets and the moon for a given date, location and time.
Does anyone know an API like that?
Any suggestions or alternatives would ...
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What is the average angular distance between the Sun and the Moon?
Naturally we would expect the average angular distance(*), to be exactly 90°, for although the Moon is not running in uniform speed (or rather, to be more precise, the relative angular speed of the ...
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