Space

Video: One year of the moon in 2.5 minutes

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March 10, 2013

This video shows you all the phases of the moon throughout the course of one year in 2.5 minutes. The animation, created by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, uses data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to compresses one month into 12 seconds and one year (2011) into 2.5 minutes.

The moon always keeps the same face to us, but not exactly the same face. Because of the tilt and shape of the moon’s orbit, we see it from slightly different angles over the course of a month. So, when a month is compressed into 12 seconds, as it is in this animation, our changing view of the moon makes it look like it’s wobbling.

As the moon orbits Earth, it changes phase in an orderly way. Follow this link to understand the various phases of the moon.

Also, if you live by the moon, check out our 2013 Lunar Calendar.

For hours of fun, and to see more videos, check out EarthSky’s videos page.

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March 10, 2013

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Space

David Callejas

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