so the moon appears to move slower across the sky than the sun, because it is orbiting in the same direction as the rotation of the earth…Is this correct?
So if I decide to be observant, I should notice the barely cresent moon in the morning to be to the west of the sun, and rising first; then a couple of days later (after the sunhas “overtaken” the moon) I should see the cresent moon in the evening to the east of the sun.
Additionally, if the sun crosses the sky in 12 hours on a given day, I should see the moon cross the sky in 13 hours or so.
Could someone please confirm my understanding as correct?
I’m confused. How does the page’s contention that "During a total eclipse the Moon moves in front of the Sun from west to east. " support your argument that the moon is moving faster than the sun across the sky? If the moon were moving faster and both are moving from east to west, then the sun would never catch up during an eclipse and the passage would have to be from east to west.
At least with respect to the sun, i think the moon moves slower across the sky.
Succesive meridian crossings of the sun take, on average, about 24 hrs while succesive meridian crossings of the Moon take, on average, about 24 hrs 50 minutes of time. in that sense the Moon moves slower than the sun and stars across the sky.
Yes, you’re correct, although the moon transit will be more like 12 hours and 25 minutes.
Keep in mind, however, that when speaking of speed of apparent motion, astronomers will sometimes speak of movement relative to the background stars. Relative to the stars, the Moon moves faster, because it revolves around the Earth every month, whereas the Earth takes a year to revolve around the Sun.
Because both revolutions are in the same direction as the daily rotation of the Earth, the Moon’s “faster” movement relative to the stars translates into “slower” movement across the sky from horizon to horizon.