I made this little walkthrough for finding the visible planets tonight and a meteor shower shooting start counter. Plus a little model of the solar system to try to wrap my head around what's going on. It's all based on your location if you provide it.
lifesprites.com/solar.html doesn't require account creation. The rest does. It's free, but you need an account.
Comments
jmtrevarton•1h ago
I still don't understand why there's a new moon when the moon is between the earth and the sun and a full moon when the earth is between the moon and the sun. Maybe if I stare at the model longer it'll magically make sense.
simbas•1h ago
The new moon is in the sky when it's daytime. Crescents show at dawn/dusk. Full moon is night only.
jmtrevarton•1h ago
hence the eclipse today
phn•57m ago
On the new moon, when the moon is between the earth and the sun, the light reflects back towards the sun, so you don't see it i.e. the moon is dark.
As for the full moon, the earth and sun are on the same side of the moon, so the sun is lighting the moon "from behind you" and you can see that.
jmtrevarton•32m ago
I'm seeing that there's traffic coming from Europe. Realizing I use US measurements for everything. I'm working on fixing that right now. Sorry for the oversight.
jmtrevarton•1h ago
simbas•1h ago
jmtrevarton•1h ago
phn•57m ago
As for the full moon, the earth and sun are on the same side of the moon, so the sun is lighting the moon "from behind you" and you can see that.