Do you have the highest tide in a full moon or a last quarter moon?

Answer 1

The moon goes around the earth in a roughly circular orbit. It appears to change shape because we only see the part that's lit by the sun.

The lunar cycle starts with the new moon, when the moon is in the same direction as the sun. The moon is hard to see, because the side facing us is dark, and it's in the same part of the sky as the sun.

The moon orbits the earth from west to east. When it's gone a quarter of its orbit from new moon, the western (trailing) side of the moon is lit. We call this phase first quarter, because the moon has just finished the first quarter of its cycle. During this phase, the moon rises around noon and sets around midnight, so you're most likely to see it in the western sky in the evening.

When the moon is halfway through its orbit, it's on the side of the earth away from the sun. The entire side of the moon that faces us is lit. We call this the full moon.

Another quarter of an orbit later, the moon's eastern (leading) side is lit. We call this phase last quarter, because the moon is just starting the last quarter of its cycle. During this phase, the moon rises around midnight and sets around noon, so you're most likely to see it in the eastern sky early in the morning.

Finally, the moon finishes its orbit, returning to the new moon phase and starting the cycle all over again. Each phase of the cycle takes about a week, with the whole cycle taking about one month. In fact, the word "month" comes from the same root as the word "moon".

If you live in the northern hemisphere, the moon is usually in the southern part of the sky at its highest point, so the lit portion of the moon makes shapes like the letters DOC (first quarter, full moon, last quarter). This is reversed in the southern hemisphere, so the shapes look like the letters COD. If you travel between the northern and southern hemispheres, the moon appears to flip over.

Answer 2

The highest tides usually occur during a full moon and new moon, when the gravitational pull of the sun and moon are aligned, causing greater tidal forces. Last quarter moons typically have lower high tides due to the moon being at a right angle to the sun and Earth.

Answer 3

It's the appearance of the moon after one quarter of the period from one New Moon

to the next has passed.

That period is about 7.4 days. At that time, the moon rises 1/4 day after the sun does,

it follows the sun 1/4 sky behind it, and sets 1/4 day after the sun sets.

We see the west half of the moon's disk. In the northern hemisphere, that's the half

on the right-hand side.

Answer 4

Usually these phases are named first quarter and last quarter, not third quarter.

Since 1/4 of the moon's surface is lit in each of these phases, they are called quarter moons. In the first quarter, we see the right side of the moon as seen from Earth. In the last quarter, we see the left side of the moon, all based on where the moon is relative to Earth and sun at that phase.

The phases are not named well, though, because a full moon (by these standards) is really 1/2 moon because we never see the dark side. However, that's how it goes so we get used to it.

I told my students to remember the look of the moon as it waxes and wanes by using the word DOC. This acronym shows that the first quarter moon is shaped like a capital D, moving to full moon, the letter O, and then waning eventually to waning crescent, shaped like a C. Therefore, the last quarter is a reversed D, which I cannot reproduce here because there is no character for it on my keyboard, but you can use your imagination, I'm sure.

Answer 5

"Waning" means shrinking ... the visible portion of the moon decreasing as time goes on.

That's the situation for half of the moon's complete cycle, from Full Moon until the next

New Moon.

"Third Quarter" is exactly the mid-point in that period of time ... halfway from Full Moon

to New Moon.

Answer 6

It's a phase of the moon, seen about 7 days after new moon. It's when you can

see half of the moon's illuminated side from earth, lit by the sun, with the other

half in shadow. It looks like half of a circle, filled in. It's called a "quarter" because

it's the shape that appears 1/4 of the way through the moon's complete cycle of

phases.

Answer 7

1). At both times, the sun-earth-moon form a right-angle, with the earth at the vertex.

2). At both times, the illuminated portion of the moon is 1/2 disk as seen from the earth. 3). Both occasions are spaced 1 week in time from the New Moon and 1 week in time from the Full Moon.

Answer 8

With the first quarter moon, the Moon is "waxing", which means getting larger. with the third quarter moon, the Moon is "waning", which means getting smaller.

In each case, the Moon is half lit ---- first quarter moon is when it is increasing and the third quarter moon is decreasing

Answer 9

Wheater or not the visible part is on the right or left, like if it is waxing or wanning

Answer 10

if you start with new moon as the first phase, the waning gibbous is the sixth phase.