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Category: Phases
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE MOON
Via ABC News
We’re in for a real treat at the end of this month with a stunning red blood #moon right across Australia — the first total #lunar eclipse since 2015. But what is a red blood moon?
With our beginner’s guide, red blood moons, blue moons, supermoons, lunar phases, and — of course — the ‘man in the moon’ will all become as plain as day.
Lunar phases
The Moon orbits the Earth every 27.3 days — which is the same amount of time it takes to spin on its axis, and this is why the same side of the Moon always faces us.
But two things change about the Moon’s appearance every day — how much of it is lit up by the Sun (giving us the phases), and what time it rises in the east.
It’s a common misconception that the phases are caused by the Earth’s shadow falling on the Moon (that’s actually what happens in an eclipse — see below).
But the dark parts of the Moon are dark for the same reason the night side of Earth is dark — they’re not being illuminated by the Sun.
As the Moon orbits Earth, it changes its angle to the Sun, relative to the Earth. A complete lunar cycle — the time taken for the Moon to go through its various phases and return to the same position — takes around 29.5 days.
During a #full moon the Moon is on the exact opposite side of the Earth to the Sun, so we see it fully lit. And being opposite the Sun, it rises at the very viewer-friendly time of sunset.
Because the Moon’s orbit takes slightly less than a calendar month, we get to see two full moons in a month about once every 2.7 years. This is called a ‘blue moon’.
A few times in a century, two blue moons can occur in a year. This year there will be blue moons in January and March for most Australian time zones — the first time this has happened since 2010.
The day after a full moon, the Moon is slightly less full (waning) and rises a bit later. And every day the lit area gets thinner, reaching the last quarter moon a week later. By this stage the Moon rises pretty late, so only night owls are likely to see it.
By the time of the new moon — a fortnight after the full moon, and the true start of the cycle — moonrise is so late it actually rises and sets with the Sun, so we never see the new Moon at all. Except during a solar eclipse, when it moves between us and the Sun.
The combined gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun when they are aligned at full and new moon produces spring tides — our highest tides. The lowest tides, called neap tides, occur when the Moon and Sun are at 90 degrees to one another, with respect to the Earth.
Lunar eclipses
Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth’s shadow falls across the Moon.
If the Moon’s orbit was perfectly aligned with that of the Earth and Sun we’d have a solar and lunar eclipse with every full and new moon — when the Sun, Earth and Moon line up.
But sadly, the Moon’s orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees. That means lunar eclipses only happen during full moons when the Earth’s and Moon’s orbits intersect.
This happens twice a year, but slight wobbles in the Moon’s orbit mean we will not necessarily get to see the same type of eclipse each time.
There are three kinds of lunar eclipses: total, partial and penumbral.
Total eclipses happen when the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow — the umbra — passes directly over the Moon, turning all of it a shade of red, aka ‘blood moon’. The reddish colour is caused by the filtering and bending of the Sun’s light through our atmosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere absorbs blue and green light so only red is left in our shadow.
Partial eclipses happen when part of the Earth’s umbral shadow passes over the Moon, blocking some of the light from the Sun. This turns part of the Moon dark.
Penumbral eclipses happen when the outside part of the Earth’s shadow — the penumbra — passes across the Moon. This makes the Moon look slightly darker but the difference is hard to detect.
When an eclipse takes place, everyone on the night side of Earth can see it at their equivalent local time.
You may see a penumbral and partial eclipse on either side of a total eclipse — just what phases you see will depend upon your time zone.
THE BIGGEST FUCKING SUPERMOON OF THE GODAMN CENTURY IS GOING TO BLOW UP THE SKY NEXT WEEK
Via: Gizmodo
As night sets in on November 14, wander outside and gawk at the sky. If the weather is clear, the #moon will be at its biggest and brightest in nearly 70 years, and it won’t put on a similar display until late 2034, astronomers say.
A so-called “#supermoon” occurs when the moon is not only full, but is orbiting close to Earth. This month’s #full moon will be the closest to Earth since January 26, 1948.
NASA says a supermoon – technically called a perigee moon – can appear to be as much as 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than a full moon at its furthest orbital point.
But NASA says the November 14 moon could, arguably, even be called an “extra-supermoon”, and here’s why.
GROW CANNABIS ACCORDING TO THE PHASES OF THE MOON, DUDE
According to an age-old farming tradition, the phase of the #moon has a huge impact on how well a plant will grow. Without getting too bogged down in the nitty-gritty of astrological signs, here’s the general idea behind gardening according to the moon. The whole idea hinges on the idea that the moon’s gravitational pull affects water in the ground. This is very similar to the way the moon affects the ocean’s changing tides.
According to the tradition, the moon’s pull on groundwater has a direct impact on how well different plants grow. The time between a brand new moon and the #full moon is called the waxing phase. The moon gets bigger and bigger every night during this phase.
As the moon gets increasingly large, it pulls water up toward the surface of the Earth. This is the time to plant things that produce fruit or leaves above ground.This would include things like tomatoes, leafy greens, grains, squash, beans, and most important of all, cannabis.