Apparent changes in the moon's inclination tonight

[Mousetoescamper]

The moon appears to have changed its inclination during the hours between the following shots. The simplest explanation I've found is that the moon's orientation with respect to our horizon "shifts throughout the night because we live under a curved dome of sky. Think of the curved arc traveled by the sun during the day. The moon and the stars follow similarly curved paths."

5:31 PM


8:16 PM

[elleng]

1. ;-)

[Mousetoescamper]

2. Remarkable! Seconds apart. Thanks!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. What an interesting thought, my dear Mousetoescamper!

Your photos are excellent and most dramatic. They clearly show what's going on.

Thank you so much!

[Mousetoescamper]

5. Thanks and you're welcome!

elleng and I coincidentally took shots of the moon seconds apart tonight. (see #1, #2)

[Marcus IM]

4. Ah HAH!!111!!!

[Mousetoescamper]

6. Do your research! Those other planets are disks. Or lights in the sky. 'Nuff said!

What's the significance of 111? Numerological numbskullery?

Thanks for the laughs, Marcus IM!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. Simple: It's doing a slow roll along the rim of the turtle shell.

The -klunk- that happens when that raggedy part gets to the shell will happen while you sleep.

[Mousetoescamper]

8. So that's what wakes me every night at 3 AM. And here I've been blaming the cat.

[William Seger]

9. Correct: The moon didn't rotate; you did

Last edited Mon Nov 20, 2023, 08:29 AM - Edit history (1)

Every 24 hours, your reference direction for "up" actually rotates 360 degrees around the Earth's axis. The moon appears to have changed its inclination relative to your local horizon and your camera, but it's actually the horizon and camera that have changed their inclination relative to the moon. So, the apparent daily orbit of the moon and its apparent 360-degree rotation while doing so are both illusions caused by the rotation of the Earth.

I remember back in the late 90s, the "OMG, the moon has flipped between moonrise and moonset!" was a silly thing for a while.

[Mousetoescamper]

10. Thanks for your intelligible explanation, William Seger!