Moon and Tides.

P.1-4
-to understand ocean tides with their variations, knowledge of the moon and its motions is
essential. both the sun and the moon exert tide producing forces upon the earth, but it is
THE MOON that controls the timing of TIDAL RISE AND FALL OF OCEAN LEVEL.
Moons motions, orbit and phases.
-the moon, satellite of the earth, revolves in an elliptical orbit
-the direction of revolution is similar to the earths direction of revolution about the sun
-(from the view: looking down on solar system with earths north pole is below us) the moons
motion is counter clockwise.
-moon rotates upon an axis more or less parallel to the earths axis, and that both bodies rotate in
the same direction counterclockwise.
Figure 6.1 moon and earth revolve and rotate in the same direction.

-this high degree of

uniformity in direction of
revolution and rotation is
found throughout the solar system and strongly suggests that the planets and their satellites
originate as condensations in a slowly rotating, flattened cloud of gas and dust. similarity in process
of their formation from a single solar nebula would be expected to produce the uniformity of
motion that we observe today.
-the moons orbit is an ellipse, considerably more flattened than the ellipse of the earths orbit, with
the earth located at one focus. when at its nearest point to the earth, the moon is said to be in
perigee
; when farthest, in
apogee
.
Figure 6.2 The moons orbit is an ellipse. Distances shown are from center of earth to the center of

moon.

-in accordance with

Keplers law of areas, the
moons speed of
revolution is somewhat faster near perigee and slower near apogee.
Period of moons revolution
-moons position (with relation to a star very near it in the sky), at exactly
24 hours later
, the
moon will be found to be about
13 eastward
of the same star. at this rate,

13.2 per 24 hours

it
takes about
27.5 days for the moon to be relocated in exactly the same meridional position
(with respect to the stars). this period is called the s
idereal month
.
it is the time required by the
moon to complete one revolution about the earth.
with reference to the sun however, the moons
period of revolution is somewhat longer, being about 29.5 days. the explanation of this fact is much
like that which accounts for the difference between solar and sidereal time. because the earth is
moving in its orbit about the sun, the suns position is steadily changing with reference to the stars.
in order for the moon to complete one whole revolution with respect the sun, the moon must travel
an additional small angular distance beyond 360. the extra time increases the moons average time
of orbit to 29.53 days, which has been called the s
ynodic month
. the sidereal month is always
exactly of the same duration, whereas the synodic month may be several hours more or less than
29.53 days, which is only the mean figure. the total possible variation in length of the synodic
month is about 13 hours.
it is the
synodic month
that is of special importance to the physical
geographer because the appearance of the moon in the sky and the periods of rise and fall of tides

are regulated according to this interval of time.

Inclination of the moons orbit
-the plane containing the moons orbit is inclined at an angle of 509 to the plane of the ecliptic.
Figure 6.3 The moons orbit is shown here as it might look at the time of winter solstice.

-thus, during a single revolution, the moon will lie in the plane of the ecliptic only at two places,
known as nodes. for most purposes, however, the moon may be thought of as moving almost in the
plane of the ecliptic and hence following a path in the sky very similar to that taken by the sun.
Declination of the moon
-the suns declination range over a total of 47 from summer solstice to winter solstice, the moons
declination experiences a similar range, but with the possibility of an additional 509 both north and
south, or a total possible range of 5712. this maximum declination occurs only once every 18.5
years.
-
moons entire cycle of declination from maximum south to maximum north, and return is
experienced in 27.2 days, a period known as the t
ropical month
.
Conjunction, opposition, quadrature and syzygy
-when both the sun and the moon are on the same side of the earth, so that all three bodies lie
approximately on a straight line, the moon is said to be in conjunction with the sun. at this point,
the possibility exists for a solar eclipse, but this is a rare occurrence because the moon is so small and
the plane of its orbit is tilted about 5 with respect to the plane of the ecliptic.
Figure 6.4 These relationships among sun, moon and earth influence the height of tides.

-when the moon and the sun are on the opposite sides of the earth they are said to be in opposition.
again all three bodies are approximately in a straight line. the possibility now exists for a lunar
eclipse, in which the earths shadow falls on the moon, partly or completely covering it for a short
period. the word
syzygy
combines the meanings of conjunction and opposition
. thus, when told the
moon is in syzygy, we know that all three bodies are approximately in a straight line, but we do not
know whether sun and moon are on the same side or opposite sides of the earth. the word
quadrature
means that sun and moon are so situated that rays drawn from each to the earth make
an angle of about 90. the moon is thus in quadrature twice every synodic month.

Phases of the moon.

-illumination of the moon and earth and the progressive changes in appearance, or phases, of the
moon throughout the synodic month, are illustrated in Figure 6.5.

-the synodic month begins with the phase of

new moon
, when sun and moon are in conjunction.
because the illuminated half of the moon faces entirely away from the earth, the moon would
appear entirely dark to the observer on the earth, except for a faint glow of light reflected to it by
the earth. another reason we cannot see the moon at this time is because the sun and the moon are
approximately in the same position in the sky so that the suns blinding rays effectively conceal the
moon. in this phase the moon and sun both rise at about the same time and move together across
the sky. however, the moon travels more slowly across the sky and is falling behind at the rate of
about 12 every 24 hours.
-about 3.75 days after conjunction, the moon has traveled one-eighth of the distance around its
orbit. it is now visible in the sky as a thin crescent whose point are directed away from the sun. this
is called the
crescent new moon
. during the preceding 3 days, the moon has dropped behind the
sun in the sky about 45.
-after about 7.5 days have elapsed in the synodic month, quadrature is reached. the moon is in the
phase of
first quarter
, in which it appears as a half circle of light.
-by the time the moon has traveled three-eighths of its orbit, and is about 11.25 days old, we see it
in the sky as about three-quarters illuminated. this is described as the
gibbous moon
.
-when the moon is 14.75 days old in the synodic month, it is in opposition to the sun and is in the
phase of
full moon
with the entire illuminated half visible from the earth. because the moon and
the sun are on opposite sides of the earth, the full moon will be highest in the sky at about midnight.
if day and night are about equal in length, the moon will rise when the sun is setting and will set
when the sun rises.

-the remaining phases of the moon are similar to those already described, except that they occur in
the reverse order. one important difference is that the moon appears as if it were the mirror image
of its corresponding phases of the first half of the synodic month. by the time the phase of old
crescent moon is reached, 26 days have elapsed in the synodic month, and the moon will have
lagged so far behind the sun in the sky that it seems, instead to be traveling about 45 ahead of the
sun. by the 29th day, the moon has fallen back to a place almost coincident with the sun and the
synodic month draws to a close.