Tag Archives: year
Just A Phase
atThe Moon: changing its appearance nightly depending on numerous factors but nonetheless entirely predictable. To wit:
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.
(Video: Data: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ; Animation: NASA‘s Scientific Visualization Studio; Music: Brandenburg Concerto No4-1 BWV1049 (Johann Sebastian Bach), by Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech)
apod
1990
atHaving worked their way through the 1980s, master mashers-up The Hood Internet move on to a new decade with 60 tunes from 1990 mixed together into one three and a half minute confection.
Previously: 1989
Your Big Day
atYear To Date
atA shaky-handed Con Kennedy writes:
For Dubliners – the Guinness mystery of who paints the year on St.James’ Gate. It’s my cousin Robert…