Moon Questions? (diagram attached) 1. Approximately how many nights during the month would an observer be able to witness a waxing gibbous phase? 2. A full moon occurred on December 21st. State the date of the next full Moon in January. 3. How many days does it take for the Moon to revolve from position 8 to position 5? 4. State two specific motions that affect the daily locations of high and low tides of Earth. 5. Explain why no person on Earth would witness a lunar eclipse when the Moon is in position #4.

1). The waxing gibbous phase represents the portion of the cycle of phases during which the moon appears more than half but less than fully lit, and is growing as time goes on. In the picture, it's everything from position-3 to position-5. It's one fourth of the entire cycle, which is 7.4 days, so you'd see it on 7 or 8 consecutive nights. (The complete cycle of phases is 29.53 days.)
2). The complete cycle of phases is 29.53 days. Any phase visible on December 21 is visible again on January 19 or January 20.
3). From position-8 to position-5 in the picture is 5/8 of all the way around. (5/8) of (29.53) = 18.5 days.
4). The locations of high- and low-tides on the Earth are influenced by the position of the moon and the rotation of the Earth.
5). A lunar eclipse is the result of the moon sailing into the Earth's shadow. The Earth's shadow is out behind it, opposite to the sun, toward position-5 in the picture, not position-4.

Answered by AL2006 | 2024-06-10

An observer can expect to witness the waxing gibbous phase for about 7 to 8 nights each month. The next full moon after December 21st will be around January 19 or January 20, and it takes approximately 11 days for the Moon to move from position 8 to position 5. Tides are affected by the Moon's gravitational pull and the Earth's rotation, and a lunar eclipse cannot occur when the Moon is in position #4 as it is not aligned with the Earth's shadow.
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Answered by AL2006 | 2024-09-05