Related papers: Determining the Eccentricity of the Moon's Orbit w…
Ptolemy's model of the Moon's motion implied that its distance varies by nearly a factor of two, implying that its angular size should also vary by nearly a factor of two. We present an analysis of 100 naked eye observations of the Moon's…
It is straightforward to determine the size of the Earth and the distance to the Moon without making use of a telescope. The methods have been known since the 3rd century BC. However, few amateur or professional astronomers have worked this…
A simple and clear method is proposed to calculate the averaged motion of the apsis line in the Moon orbit. The obtained result is $3^{\circ}1'12''$ for the starry period of the Moon revolution around the Earth or $40^{\circ}22'48''$ per…
The orbital displacement of the Moon is known to a precision on the order of centimeters from the lunar laser ranging data, while the lunar profile's confidence level is still only about 200 m. The lunar motion is used to measure the solar…
Over the course of 3.1 years we determined the position of Mars on 75 dates using a handheld cross staff and two to five bright reference stars of known right ascension and declination on each occasion. On average the observed positions of…
We present the results of measuring the geocentric lunar distance using what we propose is the simplest method to achieve a precise result. Although lunar distance has been systematically measured to a precision of few millimeters using…
The classical method for measure the Earth-Sun distance is due to Aristarchus and it is based upon the measure of the angle Moon-Earth-Sun when the Moon is exactly in quadrature. Such an angle is only 9 arcminutes smaller than 90 degrees,…
When the Moon was formed it was much closer to the Earth than it is today. It just needed about 20 days then to go around the Earth. Now it takes the Moon 29.5 days to make one revolution. In order to follow the conservation of angular…
The applicability of the linear theory of elasticity to the Moon has been studied. As a criterion was taken the smallness of the strain tensor. The elastic moduli are obtained from the data of the project "Apollo". The pressure was…
It will be shown that the rotation of the Earth in the Earth-Moon system can be detected by comparing the deflection of a Foucault pendulum at noon on the one hand and at midnight on the other hand. More precisely, on 21 June the midnight…
By applying Monte-Carlo method, the Moon radius is obtained by counting craters in a spherical square over the surface of it. As it is well known, approximate values for $\pi $ can be obtained by counting random numbers in a square and in a…
A recent analysis of a Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data record spanning 38.7 yr revealed an anomalous increase of the eccentricity of the lunar orbit amounting to de/dt_meas = (9 +/- 3) 10^-12 yr^-1. The present-day models of the dissipative…
Accurate estimation of cratering asymmetry on the Moon is crucial for understanding Moon evolution history. Early studies of cratering asymmetry have omitted the contributions of high lunar obliquity and inclination. Here, we include lunar…
The moon, moonlight, phases of the moon and its relatively simple recurring cycle has been of interest since time immemorial to the human beings, navigators, astronomers and astrologers. The fact that its orbit is elliptical as well its…
The Earth-Moon system is unusual in several respects. The Moon is roughly 1/4 the radius of the Earth - a larger satellite-to-planet size ratio than all known satellites other than Pluto's Charon. The Moon has a tiny core, perhaps with only…
Both the recently reported anomalous secular increase of the astronomical unit, of the order of a few cm yr^-1, and of the eccentricity of the lunar orbit e_ = (9+/-3) 10^-12 yr^-1 can be phenomenologically explained by postulating that the…
Understanding telescope pointing (i.e., line of sight) is important for observing the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and astronomical objects. The Moon is a candidate astronomical source for pointing calibration. Although the visible…
Nearby giant exoplanets offer an opportunity to search for moons (exomoons) orbiting them. Here, we present a simulation framework for investigating the possibilities of detecting exomoons via their astrometric signal in planet-to-star…
Although they are sometimes considered problematic to grasp by students, the concepts behind non-Euclidean geometry can be taught using astronomical images. By using photographs of the Moon taken with a smartphone through a simple…
It is well-known that the light curve of a transiting planet contains information about the planet's orbital period and size relative to the host star. More recently, it has been demonstrated that a tight constraint on an individual…