Moon's libration

Ages

Introduction

Summary

Sequence of 16 pictures representing the main phases of the lunar cycle. It is often said that the Moon always presents the same face to the Earth. This is essentially true, but there is also a small oscillation that is visible in this animation. The inclination and the eccentricity of the orbit are at the source of this phenomenon, called “libration”.

Goals

• To illustrate the Moon's libration phenomenon.

Features

Click on to advance the moon through time, step by step.

Tags

Moon phases libration