PHYS 110: The Moon Project
By: Evan K. Phillips
Section: 02
Date: 06 December 2018
-- DATA -DATE/TIME
WEATHER CONDITIONS
PHASE
VISIBLE
20SEP18/2200
Mostly Cloudy/Light Rain
Waxing Gibbous
No
21SEP18/2200
Passing Clouds
Waxing Gibbous
Yes
22SEP18/2200
Mostly Cloudy
Waxing Gibbous
No
23SEP18/2200
Overcast
Waxing Gibbous
No
24SEP18/2200
Overcast
Full Moon
No
25SEP18/2200
Mostly Cloudy
Full Moon
No
26SEP18/2200
Passing Clouds
Full Moon
Yes
27SEP18/2200
Overcast
Waning Gibbous
No
28SEP18/2200
Passing Clouds
Waning Gibbous
Yes
29SEP18/2200
Overcast
Waning Gibbous
No
30SEP18/2200
Clear
Waning Gibbous
No
01OCT18/2200
Partly Cloudy
Last Quarter
No
02OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Last Quarter
No
03OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Last Quarter
No
04OCT18/2200
Cloudy/Light Snow
Waning Crescent No
05OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Waning Crescent No
06OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Waning Crescent No
07OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Waning Crescent No
08OCT18/2200
Cloudy
New Moon
No
09OCT18/2200
Cloudy/Snow Showers
New Moon
No
10OCT18/2200
Cloudy/Light Snow
New Moon
No
11OCT18/2200
Clear
Waxing Crescent No
12OCT18/2200
Mostly Clear
Waxing Crescent No
13OCT18/2200
Mostly Cloudy
Waxing Crescent No
14OCT18/2200
Partly Cloudy
Waxing Crescent Yes
15OCT18/2200
Partly Cloudy
First Quarter
Yes
16OCT18/2200
Partly Cloudy
First Quarter
Yes
-- DATA (concluded) -DATE/TIME
WEATHER CONDITIONS
PHASE
VISIBLE
17OCT18/2200
Fair
First Quarter
Yes
18OCT18/2200
Mostly Cloudy
Waxing Gibbous
No
19OCT18/2200
Cloudy/Heavy Rain
Waxing Gibbous
No
20OCT18/2200
Partly Cloudy
Waxing Gibbous
No
21OCT18/2200
Fair
Waxing Gibbous
Yes
22OCT18/2200
Fair
Waxing Gibbous
Yes
23OCT18/2200
Fair
Full Moon
Yes
24OCT18/2200
Cloudy
Full Moon
No
25OCT18/2200
Fog
Full Moon
Yes
-- WRITE-UP -- General Overview Overall, it is easy to see the path of the Moon from this
project; I can see that it travels from West to East along the
general path of the ecliptic, appearing as a parabolic course in
our sky. The Moon “peaked” in altitude on October 21st, which
leads me to believe that it takes the Moon about eight days to
make its way from the horizon to its apex, given the data
collected from my horizon sheet. The biggest annoyance I
encountered was, as mentioned, the Grand Forks weather
conditions. It was often cloudy, preventing any sort of
observations of the Moon.
- Observation Factors If I were to observe at a different time of day, the Moon would
be at a different location along its path, i.e. at nine o’clock
in the evening, the Moon would appear further West and at eleven
o’clock in the evening, the Moon would appear further East. If I
were to switch locations and observe the Moon from a smaller
latitude, it would appear higher above the horizon; if I were to
observe the Moon from a higher latitude, it would appear lower
above the horizon. When observing from different longitudes, the
Moon moves inversely, i.e. observing farther West causes the Moon
to appear farther Eastward and vise versa.