SIZES AND DISTANCES
IN THE SUN-EARTH-MOON SYSTEM:
An Introductory Astronomy Lab


Rung 2: The distance to the Moon

In the following you will be using a real video images of a lunar eclipse which took place on September 16, 1996. You will derive the relative sizes of the Moon and Earth by using the time stamps in the image to determine how long it takes the Moon to pass through the Earth's shadow. The time you are concerned about is the time that the limb of the Moon just enters the umbra (the darkest part of Earth's shadow) to the time that it just shows up again as a bright crescent.

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