Sunny Days
The invisible path the sun travels on
the ecliptic
direction where sun rises
the east
direction the moon moves around the earth
CCW
the direction of Earth on its axis
CCW
The time it takes for the sun to return to the same place in the sky, aka a period of approximately 24 hours
solar day
the point at which the sun is at it's lowest in the sky; directly over the Tropic of Capricorn
Winter Solstice
the moon takes how long to orbit once around the earth
approx 27 days
The moon is in this phase when it is at its highest point at midnight
Full moon
The time it takes for the stars to return to the same place in the sky; a period of 23h 56m
Sidereal day
At the summer solstice, the sun is directly over this line on the globe
Tropic of Cancer
the moon takes how long to catch up to the sun in the sky
29 days
when the illuminated side of the moon is on the left it is in what phase(s)
waning
Coming up this month, the point at which the sun is directly over the earth's equator
Autumn Equinox
The sun, moon and stars reach their highest points when they hit this invisible line
Meridian
In the poem "O Lady Moon", when the horns point east the moon is in what phase(s)
waxing
three factors that contribute to the moons phases
1. spherical shape
2. location of moon relative to earth and sun
3. illumination by the sun
The sun falls behind the stars by this much each day
4 minutes
The ecliptic is actually this:
the earth's orbit around the sun
The location of the moon when it is "new"
between the sun and earth
The moon appears to follow this path through the sky
the ecliptic