How well do you know the Moon? The first one to answer all five questions correctly will be designated Lunatic for the Night. Extra points are given for having the courage to guess.

1) What is The Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms?
-- A. The Moon aged 27 days past solar conjunction
-- B. The face seen in the Moon a few days after it is full
-- C. The portion of a waxing crescent Moon made visible due to earthshine
-- D. Venus being occulted by the Moon
-- E. A waning Moon passing through the Pleiades

2) What is Diana's Bow?
-- A. The Moon aged 3 days past solar conjunction
-- B. The front portion of a dark area of the Moon shaped like a boat
-- C. A portion of a lunar mountain range that curls like a ribbon
-- D. A rising Moon
-- E. A setting Moon

3) A Half Moon (apparent semicircular disk - first/last quarter, 90° from Sun) is on average what percentage of the photometric brightness of a Full Moon?
-- A. 64%
-- B. 50%
-- C. 36%
-- D. 22%
-- E. 8%

4) What is meant by a magnitude of 1.5 for a lunar eclipse?
-- A. An eclipsed Moon that is midway in brightness between a first and second magnitude star
-- B. The maximum depth of a penumbral eclipse
-- C. A lunar eclipse occuring one and a half years after the previous one
-- D. A totally eclipsed Moon with a distance equal to half its diameter separating its limb from the edge of the umbra
-- E. A total eclipse lasting 90 minutes

5) When was the last time that from any location on Earth the Moon occulted Pollux, the first magnitude star in Gemini?
-- A. 2008 FEB 18
-- B. 2004 NOV 03
-- C. 1911 OCT 15
-- D. 117 BC SEP 30
-- E. Never

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

Hmmm, this quiz was posted nearly three weeks ago and not a single person has responded. In your case could this be because:

A. You have no interest in the Moon?
B. You thought that the questions were too easy?
C. You did not want to be the first one to respond?
D. You were afraid that you might not get a good score?
E. None of the above

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

1) C
2) B
3/4/5- No idea.

__________________
"If you think the LHC will create black holes, you might as well believe Hobbits are at the bottom of your garden."- Dr. Mike Inglis
Rovers forever! - ToSeek
"Carl Sagan sent a message to ET,
Neil Armstrong walked in the Sea of Tranquility
Steve Squyers built Spirit and Opportunity
Dan Haylen upchucked in zero gravity." -Brent Simon, The Space Camp Song

You are to be commended for giving it the old college try, KaiYeves. You provided one correct answer. Once we get a few more, I’ll give all of the right answers with explanations. Here’s a hint to one of them: The last word in Diana’s Bow is pronounced bō.

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

E. None of the Above

Is that right?

__________________
_
Show me the money
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Sir thank you for your 'looney' quiz....

let the lunatics be exposed....

i suspect, the quiz 'occulted' with page two, fairly quickly...so we didn't see it fast enough...i think, we have 'lunar tics'.

thanks again

__________________
clear skies

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

ok.

1..A
2..A
3..A - guess; could be B
4..B
5..E - i don't remember / hearing of an occultation with Pollux...really a guess..

phew...but was fun

__________________
clear skies

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

Sorry, no, but I can understand how you might think that.

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

Thanks for having the courage to provide five answers, mahesh. One of them was correct.

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

OK, it's been more than four days since anyone has offered answers. Thanks to KaiYeves, EndeavorRX7 and mehesh for playing the game. You were all good sports.


CORRECT ANSWERS:


1) What is "the Old Moon in the New Moon's Arms"?

C. The portion of a waxing crescent Moon lit by earthshine

This is an old term that is best demonstrated with a 2 or 3-day-old Moon, in which a slender crescent (New Moon) partially circles the rest of the side facing us (Old Moon) which is made visible by earthshine.



2) What is "Diana's Bow"?

A. The Moon aged 3 days past solar conjunction

Diana was an ancient Roman goddess of hunting and the Moon. The 3-day-old evening crescent Moon (10% illuminated) was imagined as a bow for her arrow. She can be seen in this pose in Disney's 1940 animated classic, Fantasia.



3) A Half Moon (apparent semicircular disk - first/last quarter, 90° from Sun) is on average what percentage of the photometric brightness of a Full Moon?

E. 8%

Around the time of a Full Moon we witness its oppositional flash. This is a brightening due to the Moon being opposite the Sun from our vantage point, which means a lack of shadows and a direct reflection of sunlight back to our eyes. At the time of a Half Moon, the Sun is 90 degrees off to the Moon's side and long shadows are cast due to everything from mountains to rock granules. The difference may not seem so great because the pupils of our eyes adjust to different lighting conditions.



4) What is meant by a magnitude of 1.5 for a lunar eclipse?

D. A totally eclipsed Moon with a distance equal to half its diameter separating its limb from the edge of the umbra

The (umbral) magnitude of a lunar eclipse is the fraction of the Moon's diameter which is covered by the umbra (dark shadow.) In the case of a partial eclipse with half of the Moon's diameter in the umbra, the magnitude would be 0.5. If a totally eclipsed Moon has just moved into the umbra with nothing to spare, the magnitude is 1.0. If it has moved more deeply into the umbra, with a space equal to half of its diameter separating its limb from the edge of the umbra, then the magnitude is 1.5.



5) When was the last time that from any location on Earth the Moon occulted Pollux, the first magnitude star in Gemini?

D. 117 BC SEP 30

Due to the star's proper motion (real motion in space relative to Earth and background stars) and the slow rotation of the ecliptic, Pollux can no longer be occulted by the Moon. But thousands of years ago it was in a position to be occasionally occulted. This last occurred in 117 BC (-116 using the astronomical date format.) I first learned of this in a book by Jean Meeus and verified it with my self-written software.

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html

Thank you Mr Renz for the answers.

5 is D! Imagine....similar to Hale Bopp's visit.....rare!

Is there any chance, you could advise us of the next lunar/Pollux occultation?! just curious.

best regards

mahesh

__________________
clear skies

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. CARL SAGAN

You’re welcome, Mahesh. Glad you enjoyed it.

The ecliptical latitude of Pollux is currently growing more northerly by 26 arcseconds per century. That means it is continuing to move further away from the zone in which occultations can happen. Prior to 116 BC occultations of Pollux were possible. The last six occurred in 433 BC, 321 BC, 303 BC, 284 BC, 265 BC and 117 BC. That’s according to Meeus and verified by me. They could only have been observed from far southern latitudes.

A similar case is that of the star Delta Sagittarii (mag 2.7), which can be occulted for observers at far northern latitudes. It was last occulted in 2006 and will next be occulted twice in 2024. Its final occultation for the foreseeable future will occur in 2359, after which it will have moved too far south.

I learned of these situations in Jean Meeus’ Mathematical Astronomy Morsels, which is the first of a series of four. Click this link for information on the book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...514/crastro-20

__________________
Curt Renz - "Centaur"
For monthly astronomical calendar visit:
www.CurtRenz.com/astronomical.html