Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Questions about the moon

After reading about how to determine the beginning of Islamic month (lunar calendar) by sky observation, I realized that I have A LOT of questions regarding the moon.. It took me hours to jump from one page to another, trying to figure out the answers of these questions. Then I think that maybe I should stop now. I have life to live (lol :p).

Here I put a list of my questions (also I tried to answer!), so maybe one day I have enough time to explore more about it..

1. Does the "dark side of the moon" mean that this side is always turned away from the sun? Or does it only mean that this side is always turned away from the earth? 

Answer:
Well, at first, you have to make sure that you know the difference between two distinct terminology: the dark side of the moon and the far side of the moonThe dark side of the Moon refers to the lunar hemisphere that is not currently lit by the sun. It is not the same as the far side of the Moon, the side that is permanently turned away from the Earth.
Reference: wikipedia (and, sorry... this part is tagged as citation needed)

2. How long does a moon need for its revolution/rotation around earth? 27 days or 29 days?
Answer: 27, 3 days!!
this period is called sidereal month, i.e. how long it takes the Moon to pass a fixed star on the celestial sphere.
Reference: wikipedia

3. so how about 29,5 days time period that we usually uses in Islamic lunar calendar (hijriyah/komariyah? :D)?


Answer:
It is called synodic month, which is measured from a New Moon (phase) to the next New Moon (phase).
Reference: wikipedia 

4. How is the altitude of the moon during one night? How long is the period of moon-set and moon-rise? What does the terminology azimuth means?

5. Is this calculation right? Because I dont think our full moon set at about 7pm this August..

I know I shouldnt use wikipedia as reference (I should double checked to its reliable source), but hey.. I wont use this information for academic paper :9

Ps: I've found crazier questions (and nice/detail answers) from reliable source
here and here

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