Science

Posted on Jan 11, 2021

APOD: 2021 January 11 - Moon Phases in 2021

Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

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Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Moon Phases in 2021." Based on data gathered by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO, launched in June 2009), today's 4:53 video clip shows the different phases of the Moon for each day in 2021. Background music for the animation is Bach's Brandenburg Concerto. Several things are going on in this video: in the upper left corner, notice how the Moon is tidally locked (same surface is always facing us) in orbit around the Earth. In the lower left corner, you see a representation of the Moon's 'wobble' as it progresses through each orbit. In the lower right corner, you see the date, phase, distance, and other statistics relevant to the Moon's position. At 3 o'clock, you see a representation of the Moon's orbit as it oscillates between apogee and perigree. And on the lunar surface, you see landmarks as they become illuminated by sunlight and locations of the Apollo missions that landed on the Moon. I think someone had a ball putting this video together.

APOD: 2021 January 11 - Moon Phases in 2021

Posted from apod.nasa.gov

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Posted >1 y ago

Responses: 10

1SG Steven Imerman

Posted >1 y ago

Good stuff! Thanks.

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LTC Stephen F.

Posted >1 y ago

JJ Cale, Cajun Moon, Roxy Club, 1986

The Roxy Club, Washington, DC, October 22, 1986, late showMusic starts at 0:52.

Thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Today's Astronomy Video of the Day (AVOD) is titled "Moon Phases in 2021."

I hope you are each enjoying a pleasant evening and that you and those you love shall sleep peacefully tonight.

Image:
1. Moon Phases in 2021
2. 2021-01-11 Phases of the Moon captured in photos.
3. Moon Calendar 2021

AVOD Background
"Explanation: What will the Moon phase be on your birthday this year? It is hard to predict because the Moon's appearance changes nightly. As the Moon orbits the Earth, the half illuminated by the Sun first becomes increasingly visible, then decreasingly visible. The featured video animates images taken by NASA's Moon-orbiting Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to show all 12 lunations that appear this year, 2021. A single lunation describes one full cycle of our Moon, including all of its phases. A full lunation takes about 29.5 days, just under a month (moon-th). As each lunation progresses, sunlight reflects from the Moon at different angles, and so illuminates different features differently. During all of this, of course, the Moon always keeps the same face toward the Earth. What is less apparent night-to-night is that the Moon's apparent size changes slightly, and that a slight wobble called a libration occurs as the Moon progresses along its elliptical orbit."

JJ Cale, Cajun Moon, Roxy Club, 1986
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh_JMj_YSo8

FYI Maj Robert Thornton COL Mikel J. Burroughs PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt Vance Bonds MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. TSgt David L. SPC Nancy Greene PO2 (Join to see) SSG Michael Noll SMSgt David A Asbury SMSgt Lawrence McCarter SPC Michael Terrell MSG Andrew White SFC Chuck Martinez CPT (Join to see) SPC Randy ZimmermanSGT John " Mac " McConnell

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