Moon

• The Moon is a satellite which performs one complete orbit of the Earth every 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds, known as the Synodic Month.
• It always shows the same face to the Earth, known as Synchronous Rotation, and its surface is pock marked with impact craters. The Moon was an important part of Roman Astronomy.

The Eight Phases of the Moon

• Eight Phases of the Moon

Tides of the Oceans

• The Moon is responsible for the Tides in the Oceans, and has twice the gravitational pull as the Sun.
• The relative positions of the Sun and the Moon produce the Spring and Neap Tides.

In Mythology

• The Ancient World attached great importance to the Moon, its Phases and its influence over Mankind.
• The Moon was known to the Ancient Greeks as the Goddess Artemis and to the Romans as the Goddess Diana, replacing the earlier Goddess, Luna.

The Eclipses

• When the Earth’s shadow falls on the Full Moon, this produces a Lunar Eclipse.
• When the Moon blocks the Sun, this is known as a Solar Eclipse.

The Synodic Month

• The Synodic Month is the time taken from one Full Moon to the next.
• The duration is 29 Days, 12 Hours, 44 Minutes and 2.8 seconds.

The Ancient Sources

• The Moon is described by:
  • Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) in Natural History.
  • Strabo (c.64 BCE-c.24 CE) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE)
    • both recorded that Tides follow the Moon, and that the height of the Tides was related to the positions of the Moon and the Sun.

Names of the Moons