Physics Photo of the Week
March
30, 2007
Crescent Moon and Earthshine
On December 18, 2006 I photographed this fantastic Moon
rise from near Warren Wilson College. The amazing feature about
the Moon's appearance is the glow of the dark part of the moon.
This is called Earthshine - caused by light reflected from the Earth
that reaches the Moon. Think of Moonshine on Earth - a similar
phenomenon in which the Earth's night side is illuminated by light from
the Moon. (See PPOW
for April 22, 2005).
Question: What causes the crescent shape as seen here?
(select one:)
A) the
Moon lies partly in the Earth's shadow.
B) We see mostly the dark side of the
Moon because of the position of the Sun.
C) The moon has rotated its dark
side to face the Earth.
Physics
Photo of the
Week is
published weekly during the academic year on Fridays by the Warren
Wilson College Physics
Department. These photos feature an interesting phenomena in
the world around us. Students, faculty, and others are invited to
submit digital (or film) photographs for publication and
explanation. Atmospheric phenomena are especially welcome.
Please send any photos to dcollins@warren-wilson.edu.
Click
here to see the Physics Photo
of
the Week Archive.
Observers are invited to submit
digital photos to:
