Space Saturday XX
Once again it has been a while since I have posted a Space Saturday, my “weekly” astronomy photograph. But it has not been forgotten! Today I bring you a beautiful picture of the crescent Moon by Matthew T. Russell!
Clickable for larger. Credit: Matthew T. Russell (source)
This is our lovely Moon, the Earth’s only natural satellite. The moon completes a cycle about every 29.5 days and due to tidal lock, we see the same side throughout that (and every) month. I found a cool image (via APOD) that shows the lunation cycle of the Moon (credit: António Cidadão). The difference of the Moon’s gravitational attraction between the near and far side of the Earth is what causes our tides (not the gravity itself) throughout the day. The interaction between the Earth and Moon is quite complex, but very interesting!
So there is a random smattering of info on our Moon! You should also stop by my Space Saturday Archive for more astronomy photographs!
Resources:
Wikipedia: Moon
APOD: Lunation
Telescopes.cc: Crescent Moon
That’s a beautiful picture,i’m a cancer a moonchild.
Blogmad hit,stop by for a visit.
ok, not really sure what that means, but thanks for coming by!
You’d love to visit Anchorage where you can see those tides in dramatic fashion - over 30′ sometimes I believe. We’ve also got great boar tides (or “tidal bore” if you’re looking at Wikipedia). Let me know if you’re ever in the area, or considering being in the area.