Have you wondered why the moon takes different size while its out at night?
A CHRONICLE ABOUT IT
Many times we see different
shaped and sized moon each night and we are puzzled. Well! Since our planet
“Earth”, has just one natural satellite “the moon”, [one spherical like
celestial body revolving the earth], why then does the moon come out at night with
different shape and size as prior to the ones we saw some nights before? Could
it be that they are different?
Crescent moon, new moon, gibbous
moon and full moon are the forms of moon likely to be seen at night but does
this mean the Earth has four natural satellite? If not, then why all these
shapes and sizes if the earth has only one satellite [one moon] and why do we
see them still?
The spherical shape of the Earth,
the angle of observation by the observer and relative distance of the observer
from the moon could be a contributing factor or the likely reason. However,
there is a more suitable and an apt explanation which describes how crescent;
new; or gibbous moon is formed, without doubt.
Earth’s natural satellite, the
moon, is a celestial body revolving the earth in its orbit. Unlike the Sun, the
yellow star of our solar system in the Milky Way galaxy, the moon does not self-illuminates
or produces light on its own naturally but absorbs and glows back the white
light and energy it absorbed from the Sun during the day. Ergo, we often do not
see the moon at noon while the luminescent Sun is up and at its zenith shinning
and illuminating the Earth, thus overwhelming the little stored white light of
the moon.
As the moon revolves round the
earth, some part of it is exposed to sunlight while some part of it might be
shadowed out. However, this does not mean that an entire surface of the moon
cannot be exposed to sun light at noon day. Remember, the moon does not have
luminescent property and does not self-illuminates naturally. Rather, it stores
the light energy from the sun and glows back when the light from the Sun cannot
overwhelm its and often when the sun is gone [e.g. at night]. At noon day,
while the sun is up and at its zenith, a part of the moon’s surface or its
entire surface receives light from the sun. If the entire receptive surface of
the moon is exposed to the light energy from the sun, the entire surface glows
back later when light from the sun is not overwhelming and at night. Ergo we see
a full moon glowing back the light energy received from the Sun at night.
observe
Consequent to the earths shape
and position and because the moon revolves round the earth, there are times
where the moon, at a particular position from the Earth and Sun, is partly or
completely shadowed from the light of the sun. The clue that Lunar Eclipse is
frequent can be explained well enough by this because often times we do not see
the moon at night or sometimes we see a part of it as crescent, new or gibbous
moon. Once a part of or an entire surface of the moon is shadowed by the earth
preventing that part of the moon from being seen, lunar eclipse as occurred.
When a part surface of the moon
is shadowed from the light of the sun it becomes opaque, while the rest of the moon’s
surface that received and stored light energy from the sun glows back. It is
that part surface of the moon which received light energy from the Sun that we
see at night as crescent, new or gibbous moon depending on the size and shaped
of the moon’s surface exposed. Withal, the opaque part of the moon which was
not exposed to sun light [shadowed out and did not receive light from the sun]
at diurnal hour of the day is not seen as it blends with the dark sky at night.
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Nice article about the earth about the earth natural satellite
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice research work Franklyn about the earth' s only satellite . Emmanuel likes what you wrote.
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