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Weekend of March 28-29, 2020
The Weekend Edition | A publication of Hood River News & The Dalles Chronicle
TheDallesChronicle.com
Exploring the many faces of our Moon
A
S SAD A SITUATION
as it is, I hope everyone
is practicing safe dis-
tancing and other safeguards
to limit the spread of the
COVID-19.
One thing that the situa-
tion does not keep you from
doing is stepping outside and
on clear evenings and taking
in the stars above. Give it a
try, and good health to all!
I’ll take a bit of a different
tact this month, and focus on
our Moon.
Earth’s natural satellite
is the easiest astronomical
object to see in the night sky,
one that is very impressive to
virtually everyone who views
it. Its mountains, craters and
large lava plains are easily
visible in telescopes or even
binoculars.
It is best viewed when it
is about half illuminated —
when shadows give the sur-
face features a three-dimen-
sional look. When the Moon
is full, it is front-lit and not
as impressive in a telescope,
but we then have wonderful
moonlit nights. Something
for everyone, you might say.
Our Moon is not the largest
natural satellite in the solar
system. That honor goes to
Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s
four “Galilean” moons. Our
Moon comes in at number
four, after Titan (Saturn),
Callisto, and Io (Jupiter).
But in terms of relative size
the parent planet, our Moon
is the largest, about one quar-
ter the size of the Earth. The
Moon is about 2,150 miles in
diameter.
The Moon takes 27.32 days
to orbit the Earth, at an aver-
age distance of 238,900 miles.
The distance varies, since
the Moon’s orbit is elliptical.
At its farthest, it is about
252,000 miles distant and
about 225,000 miles when it
is closest. The Moon is also
“tidally locked” in its orbit
— it makes one revolution in
the same amount of time it
takes to make one orbit of the
Earth, so we always see the
same side.
In recent years the term
“Supermoon” has become
popular to describe the Moon
when it is closest to Earth, es-
pecially when that coincides
view the Moon is the start of
the month, when it will be at
first quarter and visible in the
evening. Full Moon will occur
on April 8. On “tax day,” April
15, find the third-quarter
Moon in the morning sky,
What’s
in the
Sky
Jim
White
with a full Moon. And it is
indeed a bit larger (as much
as 14 percent) and as a result
illuminates the Earth more.
The term came about in the
1970s, and although it has no
precise astronomical defini-
tion, it adds to our interest.
If it results in more people
viewing the Moon, that is
good in my mind!
How big is the Moon in the
sky? It is surprisingly small,
covering only about one half
of a degree. We see 180 de-
grees in the sky, from horizon
to horizon, so a half degree
is only about 1/360th of that
span. If you hold a dime out
at arm’s length and hold it up
toward the Moon, it will com-
pletely cover the Moon. Or
try this — take a soda straw,
and look through it at the
Moon. You will be able to see
the entire lunar disc through
the straw, even when we have
a Supermoon!
But it appears much larger
to most of us, particularly
when it is near the horizon,
due to a phenomenon known
as the “moon illusion.”
There are various theo-
ries about why we perceive
this, and no real consensus.
Some think it is related to
the view near the horizon,
when objects on Earth (trees,
buildings, etc.) are near it and
make it look larger. But that is
a perception, not real.
Our Moon is always
changing in the sky, as it
orbits the Earth. The “new
Moon,” when the Moon is
between the Earth and Sun,
means the Moon is up during
the day and we don’t see it
at all. A few days later, we
see a sliver of the “waxing
crescent Moon” low in the
western sky. Waxing means it
is growing in brightness. After
about a week, we have a “first
quarter” Moon, which is half
illuminated. It rises at about
noon, and sets at midnight.
Another week goes by, and
we have a full Moon, which
rises at about sunset and sets
at sunrise. In another week,
we have a third-quarter
“waning” Moon (decreasing
in brightness), again half il-
luminated, rising at midnight
and setting at midday. Then
we have a waning crescent
Moon, and soon we are back
to a new Moon. All in all from
new Moon to new Moon is
about 27 days.
Earthshine
When the Moon is in its
crescent phase, only slightly
illuminated, have you ever
noticed that you can see the
outline and some faint fea-
tures on the area not directly
illuminated by the sun? This
is called Earthshine.
At that time, if you were
standing on the Moon look-
ing up at Earth, Earth would
be almost “full.” And Earth is
very bright! We all know how
bright the landscape here on
Earth is at full Moon, but our
Moon, with its gray surface, is
not nearly as reflective as the
Earth, with its bright clouds
and Oceans.
If you were standing on
that dark area of the Moon,
you would see a brilliantly
illuminated Earth, making
the “night sky” bright enough
for that light to be reflected
back… and thus we see the
dark areas of the Moon.
A few days later, when the
Moon is about half full, the
view from the Moon would
be of a half full Earth, not
nearly as reflective, and thus
less Earthshine.
For April, a good time to
CARBON AND OXYGEN REVEAL THE DIVINE PLAN #14
We will continue on with the “Transformation” incident to show
that the 6-8-3 pattern is the manner in which The Creator has
chosen to reveal His plan of saving mankind from himself. In
the Transformation we first see the “6” in the fact that it states
that on the “6th day” Yahshua went up a certain mountain. He
brought with him Peter, James and John. They met Moses and
Elijah. Already there were the Father and the Holy Spirit (not a
person but the physical manifestation of the power of the Father
that humans could see). This makes “8”. Note when the disci-
ples saw Moses and Elijah they said, “Lord let us make “3” tents
one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” There is the
pattern, a 6 and an 8 and a 3. Yes you may suggest that this is
stretching the text to force the pattern, but it is not for it is right
there. No other numbers are used in this incident but a 6 an 8
and a 3. Mankind is in trouble. The troubles mankind has
found himself in are universal and impossible to fix. Carbon
based human flesh has many flaws. It needs to breathe. It must
consume. It must reproduce and it will produce unwanted
waste. It also ages and decays while experiencing tremendous
pain and eventually death. Only a miracle will fix or save us
from our plight. The human body will be miraculously changed
from a carbon based body #6 to an oxygen based body #8
occurring over 3 different immortalization events.
g.d. fischer
zionman@netcnct.net
541-296-8578
W I L D WO O D AC A D E M Y A N N O U N C E S O N L I N E M I D D L E S C H O O L
Wildwood Academy
launches online schooling!
Wildwood Academy is offering online schooling during this
extended break due to Covid-19. There is a complete curriculum,
taught live from educators, for students in 5th - 8th grades (and
even some advanced 4th graders) that includes math, history,
science, geography, English, art, and much more.
There is also a math option designed by Eric Cohn and he teaches
the upper level courses.
All proceeds go to assist educators and staff during these challenging times.
You can learn more at https://www.wildwood-academy.org/online-middle-school.
Or, please email info@wildwood-academy.org for more information.
An independent Middle School
in downtown Hood River.
For more information please go to
www.wildwood-academy.org
low in the southeast. New
Moon will occur on April
23, with another first-quar-
ter Moon at the end of the
month on the April 30.
Enjoy April’s Moon and the
rest of the night sky!
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541 386
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