Re: Phases of the moon question (again)

Rebecca Rice <rebecca_rice@xxxxxxx> wrote:
All right... I was thinking of a prior thread about when the
moon was visible during the day, and remembering from a
distant science class that the full moon rises at sunset at
sets at dawn, and that got me to thinking about how nights
get longer and shorter through the year, so I assume that
that was just an approximation.

Yes ... but one that depends on how far north or south you are, not on
how long or short the day currently is. Full moon means the moon is opposite
the sun in the sky, almost by definition. And if you get far enough north or
south ... but I see you're already going there.

And that got me to the real question I have... does the moon
still go through phases at the poles?

.... Yes. Even _trying_ to imagine a geometry where it managed not to is
hurting me.

If it's daylight 24
hours a day, and the moon is full, would you see it?

No.

Is it in the sky 24 hours a day if the sun is?

Nope. See above for the key. The sun would have to be dipping low enough to
be on the horizon, _in general_, to see a full moon.

Then you have to take into account that the moon's orbit is tilted with
respect to the plane of the Solar System - not a lot, just a little - and
you get that _sometimes_ you can see the full moon when the sun is just a
little away from the horizon.

I'm trying to visualize the geometry and failing miserably. And I figure
that there were good people on this group that could answer this.

See if the above Key helps any, to start with. Full moon = moon close-to-
opposite the Sun in the sky; new moon = moon close to the Sun in the sky.
As an old Asimov essay points out, there's at least two times each year
where the moon can't MOVE fast enough in a month to escape at least partly
eclipsing the Sun - but it doesn't do so every month, just those two months
when its orbit is visually intersecting the seasonal path of the Sun in the
sky.

Dave "also, analemmae" DeLaney
--
\/David DeLaney posting from dbd@xxxxxxx "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
.

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