Preview

Astronomy Cycles

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
777 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Astronomy Cycles
Astronomical Cycles and Their Effects on Planet Earth
By Harry Mowat
The orbit of the Moon around the sun
The Moon orbits around the Earth every 27.3 days. The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is not a circular orbit but more of an eclipse and the orientation or the orbit is not fixed but differs in time. The Earth and the Moon are both actually orbiting the sun (the Moon at a much faster rate) but in the process of that orbit the Moon orbits Earth. This process is the main cause of tide formations, the neap and spring tides and the phases of the moon.
The orbit of the Moon around Earth
Image to display the relationship between moon orbiting Earth and Earth orbiting the sun
The Moon orbiting Earth and the effects it has for neap and spring tides
A spring tide is a tide with the greatest difference between low and high water levels, a neap tide is a tide with the least difference between low and high water levels. Spring and neap tides happen due to the different stages at which the moon is orbiting earth. Spring tides are created when the moon is new or full therefore the gravitational of the sun and the moon are combined. Neap tides are created when the moon’s quarter phases and the moon and the sun are at right angles creating the bulges to cancel each other.
The Moon orbiting the Earth and it’s effects of phases of the Moon
…show more content…

It takes 24 hours for Earth to do a full rotation (1 day). The speed at which Earth rotates is 1000 miles per hours or 1600 kilometers per hour. Earth spins because of how it was formed. Around 4.6 billion years ago a very large cloud of gas and dust collapsed under it owns gravity and as it collapsed it began to spin. Material in the cloud began to create swirling eddies which formed into planets (such as Earth) and they have kept the spinning motion. Earth has continued to spin because the are no forces acting upon it to which could create it to

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nt1310 Unit 9 Lab Report

    • 2198 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The Moon once rotated faster, but tidal friction slowed the rotation period until it matched the orbital period…

    • 2198 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Astronomy Chapter 1-11

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Astronomy HOMEWORK Chapter 1 9th ed 5. In Figure 1-8, what is another name for the “Sun’s annual path?” Ecliptic. This term also refers to the mathematical plane of Earth’s orbit. 10. By about how many degrees does the Sun move along the ecliptic each day? The Sun moves 360 degrees in 365.25 days along the ecliptic, so Degrees per day = (360◦ )/365.25 days = 0.986◦ = 1◦ . Round to 1 degree since the question says “about how many...” 14. What are the vernal and autumnal equinoxes? What are the summer and winter solstices? How are these four events related to the ecliptic and the celestial equator? The equinoxes are the points on the celestial sphere where the ecliptic and celestial equator intersect. The vernal equinox is the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator northbound.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Chapter 2 Problem 1 17

    • 1081 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Scientist believe that the collision of earth with a smaller body caused the earth to tilt on it axis at 23 degrees. The blasting debris is said to have formed the moon. The period from the accretion of the earth to the formation of the oldest existing rocks can be retraced to the stratification or differentiation of the earth.…

    • 1081 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Astr 100 Exam 2

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages

    * Earth travels around the sun at an average distance of about 149,600,000 kilometers (92 million miles)…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2.04 Rocky Shores

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This is the place where there is a combination of the high and low tides on shore.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. After a full moon, about how long is it until the next new moon?…

    • 1905 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Astronomy Answer Sheet

    • 424 Words
    • 3 Pages

    6. Kepler’s second law is that a line that connects a planet to the sun will cause the planet to travel the same distance in the same time.…

    • 424 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    astro quiz

    • 682 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Some moons have orbits that are "backwards" (compared to their planet's rotation) or highly inclined to their planet's equator.…

    • 682 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Supplement 01

    • 6691 Words
    • 27 Pages

    C) the combined effect of the rotation of Earth and its orbit about the Sun…

    • 6691 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.…

    • 582 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Tide Waves Research Paper

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At this time the high tides are higher than normal and the low tides are lower thn normal. This is known as a spring tide. Spring tides are especially strong tides (but they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both, make the tides much stronger. During the moon's quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles causing the bulges to cancel each other out. As a result there is a much smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are very weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    astronomy 104

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    4. A lunar calendar is based of the cycles of the lunar phases. There are 12 lunar cycles per year. Lunar calendars are still used in traditional Jewish and Chinese calendars.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hard Stuff

    • 559 Words
    • 2 Pages

    5. What function does the Moon have for Earth? The moon keeps the tide equalized and it helped the tilt of the earth without the moon we would have wild climate changes and a wobbly world. It slowed the rotation of earth as the moon drifted away.…

    • 559 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though the moon is in space the earth’s gravity is still acting upon it, so a person could say that the moon is falling towards the earth. The reason that the moon doesn’t literally fall to the earth is because the moon is traveling at a constant rate of speed, which has the tendency to travel in a straight line. There is a correlation between the amount of force that the earth’s gravity has on the moon, due to its distance, and the moon’s tendency to travel in a straight line. The moon is constantly changing direction as it orbits the earth in an elliptical pattern, even so, it constantly has the tendency to travel in a straight line. The earth’s gravity pulls the moon towards it, causing it to not travel in a constant direction. Therefore, as the moon is trying to travel a single direction, it is constantly being pulled towards the earth. Since the earth is a sphere the moon does not get any closer or further away as it wants to travel in a straight line while being pulled towards the earth. The illustrations below show this…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Astronomy Homework

    • 560 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Q1) Last night you saw the star Betelgeuse exactly on your eastern horizon at 5:47 PM. Two students are discussing their answer to the question "At 5:47 PM tonight where will you see Betelgeuse?"…

    • 560 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics