Astronomy Case

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to use our knowledge of the moon and measurements in order to figure out the size of the moon. This will make it easier to figure out how big objects are in the sky by using these same calculations.

Procedure: In order to accomplish this experiment you will need a ruler that measures to the mm, also note cards come in handy if you have chubby fingers. To begin the experiment you must wait until the sun is set and the moon begins to rise. When the time was right I journeyed outside into my backyard to take the measurements. It was a pretty easy process to accomplish in a minimal amount of time. I measured the size of the moon in mm as well as the space between my eyes and the ruler. I also witnessed the conjuncture between the moon near the horizon and when it is high in the sky, the moon does appear to be bigger when it is closer to the horizon.

Data and Calculations:

Time and Date: October 2, 2012 @ 11:23pm

Location: Dry Creek and University. Centennial Colorado

Size Measured: Ruler width of moon=5mm

Distance from eye to hand=914.4mm

Conclusion and Analysis: The conclusions I came to may be falsified because I could not take the exact measurement of the distance between my eyes and my hand holding the ruler. It was late and there was nobody around to help me. Also this could be a factor because not everybody has the same arm length or the same judgment when writing down if the moon was 5mm in diameters compared to 4mm. There are many areas in which this experiment could go wrong.

Angular size=1,127.9 mm

Actual Size=3,476km