Supermoon Uses

Honestly, as a German I can not quite understand the obsession of the English speaking world with the question whether a word exists or not. If you have to express something for which there is no word, you have to make a new one, preferably by combining well-known words, and in the very same moment it starts to exist. Agree?

The Moon in Motion

Happy New Year! And happy supermoon! Tonight, the Moon will appear extra big and bright to welcome us into 2018 – about 6% bigger and 14% brighter than the average full Moon. And how do we know that? Well, each fall, our science visualizer Ernie Wright uses data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to render over a quarter of a million images of the Moon. He combines these images into an interactive visualization, Moon Phase and Libration, which depicts the Moon at every day and hour for the coming year. 

Want to see what the Moon will look like on your birthday this year? Just put in the date, and even the hour (in Universal Time) you were born to see your birthday Moon.

Our Moon is quite dynamic. In addition to Moon phases, our Moon appears to get bigger and smaller throughout the year, and it wobbles! Or at least it looks that way to us on Earth. This wobbling is called libration, from the Latin for ‘balance scale’ (libra). Wright relies on LRO maps of the Moon and NASA orbit calculations to create the most accurate depiction of the 6 ways our Moon moves from our perspective.

1. Phases

The Moon phases we see on Earth are caused by the changing positions of the Earth and Moon relative to the Sun. The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon, but we see changing shapes as the Moon revolves around the Earth. Wright uses a software library called SPICE to calculate the position and orientation of the Moon and Earth at every moment of the year. With his visualization, you can input any day and time of the year and see what the Moon will look like!

2. Shape of the Moon

Check out that crater detail! The Moon is not a smooth sphere. It’s covered in mountains and valleys and thanks to LRO, we know the shape of the Moon better than any other celestial body in the universe. To get the most accurate depiction possible of where the sunlight falls on the lunar surface throughout the month, Wright uses the same graphics software used by Hollywood design studios, including Pixar, and a method called ‘raytracing’ to calculate the intricate patterns of light and shadow on the Moon’s surface, and he checks the accuracy of his renders against photographs of the Moon he takes through his own telescope.

3. Apparent Size 

The Moon Phase and Libration visualization shows you the apparent size of the Moon. The Moon’s orbit is elliptical, instead of circular - so sometimes it is closer to the Earth and sometimes it is farther. You’ve probably heard the term “supermoon.” This describes a full Moon at or near perigee (the point when the Moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit). A supermoon can appear up to 14% bigger and brighter than a full Moon at apogee (the point when the Moon is farthest from the Earth in its orbit). 

Our supermoon tonight is a full Moon very close to perigee, and will appear to be about 14% bigger than the July 27 full Moon, the smallest full Moon of 2018, occurring at apogee. Input those dates into the Moon Phase and Libration visualization to see this difference in apparent size!

4. East-West Libration

Over a month, the Moon appears to nod, twist, and roll. The east-west motion, called ‘libration in longitude’, is another effect of the Moon’s elliptical orbital path. As the Moon travels around the Earth, it goes faster or slower, depending on how close it is to the Earth. When the Moon gets close to the Earth, it speeds up thanks to an additional pull from Earth’s gravity. Then it slows down, when it’s farther from the Earth. While this speed in orbital motion changes, the rotational speed of the Moon stays constant. 

This means that when the Moon moves faster around the Earth, the Moon itself doesn’t rotate quite enough to keep the same exact side facing us and we get to see a little more of the eastern side of the Moon. When the Moon moves more slowly around the Earth, its rotation gets a little ahead, and we see a bit more of its western side.

5. North-South Libration

The Moon also appears to nod, as if it were saying “yes,” a motion called ‘libration in latitude’. This is caused by the 5 degree tilt of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth. Sometimes the Moon is above the Earth’s northern hemisphere and sometimes it’s below the Earth’s southern hemisphere, and this lets us occasionally see slightly more of the northern or southern hemispheres of the Moon! 

6. Axis Angle

Finally, the Moon appears to tilt back and forth like a metronome. The tilt of the Moon’s orbit contributes to this, but it’s mostly because of the 23.5 degree tilt of our own observing platform, the Earth. Imagine standing sideways on a ramp. Look left, and the ramp slopes up. Look right and the ramp slopes down. 

Now look in front of you. The horizon will look higher on the right, lower on the left (try this by tilting your head left). But if you turn around, the horizon appears to tilt the opposite way (tilt your head to the right). The tilted platform of the Earth works the same way as we watch the Moon. Every two weeks we have to look in the opposite direction to see the Moon, and the ground beneath our feet is then tilted the opposite way as well.

So put this all together, and you get this:

Beautiful isn’t it? See if you can notice these phenomena when you observe the Moon. And keep coming back all year to check on the Moon’s changing appearance and help plan your observing sessions.

Follow @NASAMoon on Twitter to keep up with the latest lunar updates. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

history is a subject i adore and over the years i’ve been studying it, i’ve picked up some great skills! here are my five top tips for aspiring historians out there, whether you know you’re one yet or not ;)

1. read!

no matter what you’re into, someone in history will be #relatable. want to study a gay king who kissed his gold-digging boyfriend in public? james i is right here! what about a prince who wore dresses to court? well, have you heard of philippe d'orléans? maybe you want to learn about the noblewoman who inspired dracula and bathed in the blood of local ladies! elizabeth báthory’s your girl. whatever you’re interested in, there’s someone out there who’s written about it - and learning about your course beyond the syllabus will improve your understanding as well as your writing skills! if you’re struggling to find a way to make a particular period interesting, just message a historian - i’m more of a social historian, but i’m always happy to talk about any aspect of history, and i’m sure others on tumblr feel the same!

check out:

academia.edu - papers about pretty much anything you could want to read, ranging from very accessible to heavy academic language

google books - a great starting point for literally anything, you can search “gay women 14th century” and you’ll find the historical lesbians you’ve always wanted

jstor - great for academic texts, but you can only read three per fortnight unless you sign up with a bunch of spam emails

2. take it outside the classroom!

history is all well and good in theory, but visiting historically significant locations can change your understanding completely. whether it’s a local graveyard to trace the stories of those before you or a medieval castle, visualising the lives of people you study makes the subject far more engaging (and easier to remember in the long run)!

check out:

travel journal masterpost by @stillstudies

historical days out for under £20

museums and galleries with free entry

3. make a timeline!

again, visualising history makes it so much easier to remember. whenever i start a new module of history, i make timelines by buying a huge roll of the cheapest wrapping paper i can find and taping it up onto my wall, patterned side down. i’ll make a really rough timeline of key events (e.g. my tudors timeline started with the accession of different monarchs, deaths of important people, where henry viii’s fancy led to) with big markers and then as we go through the course, i’ll add more detailed information in different colours! then, when i’m revising, i’ll tape another piece of wrapping paper over it and try and reconstruct it from memory. some people in my class use flashcards instead, with one for each year - do whatever works for you!

check out:

formatting and using flashcards by @illolita

flashcard tips by @tbhstudying

flip cards by @brokestudiesnrefs

4. make profiles of key figures!

when i was studying the american west, i found it really hard to keep track of all the generals because a) i’m about as far from a military historian as you can get and b) i hated them all. so to try and remember them, i made them into characters - some of them i doodled, some i made on the sims, some my history class acted out together. it’s a great way of forcing yourself to both research individual figures and remember little details about them - i’m a bit of a perfectionist, so looking up tiny facts about each rank to make The Perfect Sim really helped them stick in my head!

5. make your own history!

at the end of the day, it’s you that has to remember these facts for an exam. why not make a game out of it? reenact a key argument with a friend, read out preserved letters dramatically to yourself, watch historical dramas involving the figures you’re studying. if you can get yourself to remember things outside of a textbook, you’re halfway there!

check out:

studying history by @universtudy

writing history essays by @thehistorygrad

i hope you can find these useful! if you have any questions or just want to talk history, feel free to message me :)

me: haha oh god this is so bad im making so many unsupported claims and pulling all this analysis out of my ass

my prof in the margins: excellent analysis!

me: 

Source: 1 2 3 4 5 6 If you want more facts, follow Ultrafacts

So right now I see a super moon, a lunar eclipse and a “bloody moon”. Look some like this.

The Final Interview – Emirates Airlines

So here I was at the Final Interview, more relaxed than my Assessment day. All the scary part was over.

Final interview was one on one with the recruiter. My interview lasted around 1 hour, I can’t quite remember all the questions but I will try to write some to give you an idea.

Also the documents that you need to bring with you to the final interview; 

Full length photo (1) (10 x 15 cm) ; business attire, big smile, plain background, both hands visible on the side, facing forward.

Passport Size Photo (6) (4.5 x 3.5 cm) business attire, big smile, plain background

Casual Photograph (2); one full length, one head/shoulder length photo; clothing in a fitted style, not sitting for full length, conservative attire and surroundings, no sunglasses, hats or group photos. ( You can bring a selection of casual photos and the recruiter will help you to choose.

Photocopy of Educational Certificates

Updated CV

Passport copy x 2 colored 

What Happens in Final Interview?

You have around 1 hour with the recruiter.

You mostly get questions about your previous work experience (s/he takes notes of everything you say)

Just relax, be yourself and believe in yourself:) You can do it!

        Tell me a time when you had a discussion/conflict with a colleague.

         Have you ever worked with people from different cultures/religion?

         Tell me how you adjusted working with people from different cultures

         Tell me about a time when you were disappointed by  a colleague.

         Name a time you had to adjust to the rules / way of doing things at a job, to accommodate a customer’s needs.

         Have you ever had an issue with another employee were you disagreed on something, and how did you handle the situation?

        Have you ever had a deadline at a job that you had to meet, and how did you go about getting it done on time?

        What are/were your responsibilities in your current/previous job?

        Why do you want to work as Flight Attendant?

        Which languages can you speak?

        Have you ever had a disagreement with a customer? what happened?

So it is very relaxed not strictly formal interview it is more about getting to know you. We ended up with recruiter laughing and gossiping about the hotel’s staff :D And when I was leaving she thanked me in Turkish, and she told me she has a very good Turkish friend working for Emirates and I taught her how to say You are welcome & Nice to meet you in Turkish:)

And my recruiter told me she will present all the candidate portfolios to Dubai HQ and I should hear back in 4-6 weeks about the result. So crossed my fingers thanked her and left there feeling happy and hopeful :)

Artistic conception of the auroras os Saturn and Earth (jupiter’s image is real - ultraviolet) Instagram: wonders_of_the_cosmos

Badass Playlist

(The playlist you need to play when you feel like you need 50 strippers backing you and angels with hair as high as the heavens (hair metal bands)) (This also works great to drive to)

1) Wild Side–Mötley Crüe 

2) Hunger–King Kobra 

3) Breathless–Quiet Riot 

4) The Wild and the Young–Quiet Riot 

5) Shout at the Devil–Mötley Crüe 

6) Girls, Girls, Girls–Mötley Crüe 

7) Sumthin’ for Nothin’–Mötley Crüe 

8) Highway Tune–Greta Van Fleet

9) Uncle Tom’s Cabin–Warrant 

10) Nobody’s Fool–Cinderella 

11) Cherry Pie-Warrant 

12) Kickstart my Heart–Mötley Crüe 

13) Push, Push–Cinderella 

14) Gypsy Road–Cinderella 

15) Dancing on Glass–Mötley Crüe 

16) Still of the Night–Whitesnake 

17) Shake Me–Cinderella 

18) Let’s Get Crazy–Quiet Riot 

19) St. John–Aerosmith 

20) All in the Name Of…–Mötley Crüe (Even though the lyrics are quite questionable)

21) Looks that Kill–Mötley Crüe

22) Ten Seconds to Love–Mötley Crüe 

23) Hell on Wheels–Cinderella 

24) Somebody Save Me–Cinderella 

25) Put Up or Shut Up–Quiet Riot