Ep. 113: The Moon, Part 1

Hey, here's a topic we haven't really gotten around to yet… the Moon. Today we look at our closest astronomical companion: the Moon. What impact does the Moon have on our lives, where did it come from, who walked on it, and are we ever going to walk on it again? We're going to learn about the phases, the tides, and even a little bit about NASA's plans to send humans back to the Moon.

Ep. 113: The Moon, Part 1

Moon Phases

• Click on the above graph to make it larger
• Understanding Moon Phases – Moon Connection
• Phases of the Moon — US Naval Observatory
• Virtual Reality Moon Phase pictures (see what the moon looked like/will look like on any day, past or future — US Naval Observatory
• Waxing moon – Universe Today's Guide to Space
• Waning moon – Universe Today's Guide to Space
• Listen to the pronunciation of waning — Yahoo Education (does YE seem like an oxymoron?)
• A moon phase module that can be put on your website

Eclipses

• Lunar eclipses for beginners — Mr. Eclipse.com
• Lunar eclipses – Starry Skies
• The path of the ecliptic — GSFC
• Solar eclipses for beginners — Mr. Eclipse.com
• NASA's Eclipse website

Tides

• Lunar Tides — UTK
• What causes high tide and low tides? — HowStuffWorks
• Tide predictor website

The Moon Illusion

• Bad Astronomy's Moon Illusion page
• Moon Illusion Mystery — U of Pennsylvania

The Moon Itself

• The Primal and Future Moon — Starry Skies
• Why Doesn't the Moon Rotate? – DigiPro
• Is the moon moving away from Earth? — Cornell U
• Conservation of angular momentum — UTK
• The Moon — Nine Planets
• Universe Today's Guide to the Moon
• Geology of the Moon – Wiki
• Surface Properties of the Moon — UTK
• The Lunar Mare (names and locations)– Ames Research Center
• Star Stryder post about the composition of the moon
• Crater Counting to determine age — Wiki
• Radiocarbon dating – Wiki
• Fred Hoyle — Wiki
• Moon dust problems here and here – Universe Today
• Kaguya Doesn't Find Water on the Moon – Universe Today

1. GIL KERR Says:
   November 5th, 2008 at 3:05 am

   great show love dee moon ! rOOF ROOF

2. Phil Ramsay Says:
   November 6th, 2008 at 12:07 am

   Really enjoyed the episode - as usual.

   One comment in the episode got me thinking an odd question though…

   Since the Earth isn't perfectly spherical, and its center of mass isn't perfectly centered, it will eventually tidally lock with the Moon, as the Moon has with the earth.

   For all practical purposes, this won't be an issue, since the Sun will go red giant first.

   The question is - if we ignore the red giant part, when the Earth finally did theoretically tidally lock - what part of the Earth would be facing the Moon? Someone must know, based on known mass distribution within the Earth, right?

   Just curious - who gets the 'good' view…

3. Olof Says:
   November 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm

   Actually tides are a bit misrepresented on the show: You can not simply sit on the beach and observe that the moon is high when you have a high tide.

   Complicating factors:
   1. The presence of continents.
   2. The depth of the ocean. This limits how fast a wave can travel across the globe. Our oceans are too shallow allow for a tidal bulge moving in phase with the moon.
   3. Coriolis force, which deflects the tidal currents.
   4. Resonance.

   If you compare tidal charts you will notice that the tide is not necessarily in phase with the moon or sun, but that the period is correct.

   Cheers,
   Olof
   Oceanographer

4. Mark Mulkerin Says:
   November 11th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

   Great show. I have one question about tides though. Does tidal pull affect the relative depth of groundwater? Thanks.

5. Jack MacDonald Says:
   November 15th, 2008 at 10:04 pm

   I was commuting to work on Nov 14 about 6:15 am and noticed a nearly-full moon near the horizon and a high tide. Seems about 6 h different than the explanation given on the episode.

   For Fraser: I am sure you know the location where I made the observation. Deas Slough near the Massey Tunnel in Vancouver.

   Great show! Especially appreciated the explanation of why the same side of the moon always faces the earth. Always wondered about that one!

6. geojim56 Says:
   December 17th, 2008 at 7:27 pm

   Radiocarbon has no relevance to dating on the Moon. The link should be removed.

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