Category Man and the Moon

          Aristotle brought out a philosophical description of the universe. In it, the Moon was described as a border element, a boundary between the Earth and other imperishable stars. This philosophical view dominated the thoughts about the Moon for centuries.

          Some important studies about the Moon and its movement came out in the second century BC. Seleucus of Seleucia studied and theorized tides and tidal movements. He found out that tides were formed due to the attraction of the Moon, and that their height depended on the Moon’s position relative to the Sun.

          Aristarchus is credited with another important finding. He computed the size and distance of the Moon from the Earth. According to his findings, the distance from the Earth to the Moon is almost twenty times the radius of the Earth. Ptolemy studied and improved these values further.

          The temple astronomers of Babylon had observed the skies for centuries and had recorded their observations in astronomical diaries, and other catalogues. Their predictions are almost accurate to this day.

          In fact, the Assyrians and Babylonians regarded lunar eclipses as evil omens. They believed that eclipses were directed against their kings. This was one reason why they studied more about the Moon. They studied the length of the synodic month, the period between two full moons. Their observations were almost error free. Using these data on the synodic month, the Babylonian astronomers were able to predict lunar eclipses and solar eclipses later.

          They also recorded the 18-year Saros cycle of lunar eclipses. A Saros cycle is the period of 223 synodic months-18 years and 11.3 days- after which lunar and solar eclipses repeat themselves. The predictability of the lunar eclipse made it possible for the Babylonians to appoint substitute kings who would bear the burden of the wrath of the gods.

          Ancient scientists and astronomers were fascinated by moonlight. The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was one of the first scholars to understand the nature of moonlight. His investigations suggested that the Sun and the Moon were both giant spherical rocks, and that the Moon reflected the light of the Sun.

          The Chinese of the Han dynasty believed in the ‘radiating influence’ of the Moon. They recognized that the light of the Moon was merely a reflection of the Sun. Jing Fang of the Han dynasty studied further about the spherical nature of the Moon.

          Indian astronomer Aryabhatta studied about the physical characteristics of the Moon. In Aryabhatiya, he notes that reflected sunlight is the cause of the shining of the Moon. The Arab astronomer Alhazen threw more light on the way the Moon reflected sunlight. He found that sunlight was not merely reflected from the Moon like a mirror, rather it was emitted from every part of the Moon’s sunlit surface in all directions.

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           The journey to the Moon had to be somehow made possible. This thought was the driving force behind all the studies about the Moon.

           The early developments were crucial in moulding the later growth. It all began thousands of years ago with sketching the Moon; humans began drawing pictures to track the changes of the Moon. Later, their observations of the Moon led to creating calendars.

           Understanding the Moon’s cycles was the earliest development in astronomy. Astronomers from India studied the monthly elongation of the Moon while the Babylonian astronomers worked towards finding formulas to predict the lunar eclipse. The Chinese astronomer Shi Shen is noted for his instructions for predicting solar and lunar eclipses. The Chinese also studied the physical form of the Moon, including moonlight and gravitational pull. There were also efforts to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Moon. However, the Moon was believed to be a sphere with a smooth surface before the invention of the telescope.

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          We are familiar with the word lunacy, which means madness. Did you know that this word comes from Luna, the Latin word for the Moon?

          There are many stories about mysterious events that happen during the full moon. This includes strange and violent behaviour of animals including wolves and dogs. It is believed that the full moon brings out the worst in humans and animals. However, there are no satisfactory scientific explanations for any of this, though there are some evidences about the lunar phases affecting the behaviour of birds, fish, insects and even mammals. It’s a growing research area now.

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          About 350 million years ago, a day on the Earth was around three hours shorter than today. The Earth slowed down because of the Moon. Aren’t you surprised?

          The Moon can slow down the Earth, even with its weak gravitational and magnetic field. This happens when there’s a force of friction between the surface of the Earth and the tidal bulges.

          During its rotation, the Earth drags the tidal bulge directly under the Moon. This causes friction between the Earth’s surface and the tidal bulge. The friction generated during this action slows down the rotation of the Earth on its axis. This results in a longer day and even a longer month.

Picture Credit : Google