Lunar Definitions
Lunarof or relating to or associated with the moon.
Moons Radius 1738 Km.
Synodic Month New Moon to New Moon the Synodic Month is 29.530588 days (=29d12h44m03s).
The Moon orbit can vary from 29.26 to 29.80 days.
Moon Orbit The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun.
Phases of the Moon LAST QUARTER, NEW MOON, FIRST QUARTER, FULL MOON.
Average distance to the Moon 384,403 kilometers (238,857 miles). Actual distance changes with the orbit of the moon.
The Moon at Perigee and Apogee by John Walker
Perigee (per-jê)
When the Moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit.
Apogee (apo - gê) When the Moon is furthest from the Earth in its orbit.
Lunar LibrationsThere are three types of lunar libration: longitude, latitude, diurnal.
Libration in longitude Libration in longitude is a consequence of the Moon's orbit around Earth being somewhat eccentric, so that the Moon's rotation sometimes leads and sometimes lags its orbital position.
Libration in latitude Libration in latitude is a consequence of the Moon's axis of rotation being slightly inclined to the normal to the plane of its orbit around Earth. Its origin is analogous to the way in which the seasons arise from Earth's revolution about the Sun. Also significant is the fact that the Moon's orbit is inclined to the plane of the ecliptic by a little more than 5°. As it is the Sun which illuminates the Moon - and both the Sun and the Earth are always located in the plane of the ecliptic - the Moon is sometimes illuminated from above and sometimes from below, allowing us to see some of the lunar surface beyond the poles.
Diurnal libration Diurnal libration is a small daily oscillation due to the Earth's rotation, which carries an observer first to one side and then to the other side of the straight line joining Earth's center to the Moon's center, allowing the observer to look first around one side of the Moon and then around the other. This is because the observer is on the surface of the Earth, not at its centre.
lunar librations animationwikipedia
Eclipse Type There are three types of lunar eclipses: Partial, Penumbral, Total.
Partial Eclipse When the Moon crosses partially into the Earth's umbra.
Penumbral Eclipse When the Moon crosses through the Earth's penumbra.
Total Eclipse Earth's umbra encompasses the Moon.
Earth's umbra A dark, cone shaped shadow cast by the Earth.
Earth's penumbra A light, wide cast shadow of the Earth.
Saros Periodicity and recurrence of lunar (and solar) eclipses.
Saros cycle A period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours).
Saros series Lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains 70 or more lunar eclipses.
zenith the point above the observer that is directly opposite the nadir on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected.
nadir the point below the observer that is directly opposite the zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected.
gamma a unit of magnetic field strength equal to one-hundred-thousandth of an oersted.
oersted the magnetic field strength 1 cm from a unit magnetic pole.
