The effect of the moon on plant growth. Why the moon waxes and wanes (lunar cycle)

Everyone is familiar with such terms as "waning moon", "growing moon", "full moon" and "new moon". In fact, all this is the designation of one and the same concept - a satellite of the planet Earth. All the different variations of it are just optical effects.

Why does the moon take on different shapes?

So, by itself, the Moon does not glow, because it is a planet. But when it doesn't hit sunlight, it shines and it becomes visible through the atmosphere. During the day, visibility is zero because of the clouds, but in the evening and at night they gradually become transparent and the moon can be seen in all its glory.

The effects of its decrease or vice versa increase depend on the fact that it rotates in its orbit around the earth. But she does not stand still. As you know, our planet rotates simultaneously around its axis and around the Sun.

The moon makes a complete revolution around its axis in about 27 days, 7 hours and 43 minutes, because the lunar month is slightly shorter than the earth. But since the earth also rotates, it turns out that its satellite is turned to it on one side. The second from the ground is never surveyed. When we see the round disk of the moon at night, it means that its full surface is illuminated, but if we see something that resembles a slice of watermelon in shape, we are talking about partial illumination. It depends on which direction the slice is “looking” whether it is the moon in the phase of growth or waning. The dependence on this behavior of animals, the ebb and flow of water in the world's oceans, as well as the growth of plants, has been proven. This is physics and no magic.

When the moon is visible only in a narrow strip, people say that it is a young moon. In other words, growing. In about a week and a half or two weeks, it will turn into a full one and begin to decrease. Then the process will repeat again. On a full moon at night, the best visibility, unless, of course, there is no fog.

The fact that parts of the moon of different shapes can be seen from the earth has always puzzled people, since the time of the existence of mankind. In this regard, many myths and legends were invented in which all sorts of magical properties were given to the night luminary. Now these are just fairy tales that evoke curiosity and, perhaps, tenderness. But a dry scientific explanation of astronomy does not sound as interesting as the story of some nocturnal deity. After all, the goddess of the night, Mara, was even among the Slavs.

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The movement of the Moon around the planet Earth in orbit takes about a month. In addition, it also moves around its own axis. This process takes a little over 27 days. Since the movement in orbit and rotation around its axis is performed simultaneously, the Moon is always directed towards the Earth by one side.

The moon itself does not shine like the sun. It only gives the impression that it shines, but in fact it only reflects sunlight. As the Moon moves around the planet, sunlight hits different parts of it. This is the answer to the question: "Why is the Moon different?". Periodically, we see the fully illuminated surface of the satellite, and from time to time only part of it is illuminated. Therefore, it seems to us that the moon is changing its shape. But this is only a transformation of the luminary - phases that indicate that we can see its various parts.

Lunar phases, or why the moon is different

The first lunar phase is the new moon. At its moment, the luminary is between the Sun and the Earth. This moon is not visible to us. Then comes the phase in which its side is illuminated by sunlight. This part of it looks like a thin piece of a circle.

Very soon, the side of the Moon that the Sun hits grows and becomes a semicircle. And this lasts until the moon reaches the last quarter, then the cycle ends and starts all over again.

Earth and Moon

The movement of the Earth around its axis coincides with the periods of rotation of the Moon, or is it just the gravitational effect of one celestial body on another? Answer to this question sought by many inquisitive minds.

It has been established that, nevertheless, gravity becomes the cause of this position of celestial bodies. We all know what the tides are, which regularly occur in the oceans and raise the water by several meters.

And the question "why the Moon is different" has a simple answer: the Earth from different sides is subjected to lunar attraction in different ways. The side that is turned towards the satellite is more affected than the opposite.

As a result, various parts of the Earth move in the direction of the side with different speed. The surface, which is directed towards the Moon, swells, in the center the Earth shifts less, and the opposite surface completely lags behind, forming a hump. The Earth's crust is reluctant to change shape, and on land, tidal forces are imperceptible. In the sea, under the influence of the satellite, tidal humps are formed on different sides of the planet.

As it turns to the Moon with its different sides, as a result, the tidal hump also moves along its surface. That's why the moon is different.

Scientists have calculated that a billion years ago, the Moon was located significantly. At this time, there were only 20 hours in a day. Only a few days were required for the Moon to pass around the Earth, and therefore were expressed more clearly. Over time, the motion of the satellite slows down, and in five billion years the Earth will rotate so slowly that it will turn to the Moon with only one side, and there will be only 9 days a year, not 365. It will make nine revolutions per year. Consequently, the year will not have 12 months, as it is now, but only 9, and each will have only one day.

The influence of the Moon on the inhabitants of planet Earth has already been proven. This satellite of our planet causes fluctuations magnetic field Lands, water ebb and flow, changes climatic conditions – atmospheric pressure and temperature, wind direction and strength. And of course, these phenomena also affect plants. Gardeners could experience the fact that the phases of the moon influence the development of plants.

lunar year

This year does not coincide with the solar one. Duration 12 months lunar year shorter than the solar by 11 days. The two calendars are equalized as follows: once every three years, another thirteenth lunar month stands out.

Moon phases during a lunar month

new moon (the moon is practically invisible, only a thin sickle shines);
the growing Moon or the first quarter (the right half of the disk is visible) - the period lasts the first 2 following the new moon, is additionally divided into the I and II phases;
full moon (the whole moon is clearly visible);
the waning moon (the right half of the disk is visible) - the period lasts 2 weeks after the full moon, is further divided into phases III and IV.

Plant Care Tips

The force of attraction of the Moon to the Earth on the days of the new moon and the full moon is the same - during such periods, the Earth's satellite is at the same, closest distance from it. The movement of juices in plants during this period increases, the supply of nutrients to the upper parts of plants improves, which contributes to more active growth and development.

In the first week after the new moon, the roots grow intensively, in the second, the growth of the aerial parts of plants improves. After the full moon, the cycle of growth repeats. However, in the second period, the above-ground part develops somewhat more actively than in the fourth. This is due to the difference in night illumination, which is higher during the second period than in the fourth. Due to the bright moonlight, photosynthesis occurs at night, which additionally affects the growth of the plant.

Therefore, it is recommended to plant grown seedlings in the ground, to engage in various transplants during the 1st and 3rd lunar periods. The roots will develop faster, the plant will take root more firmly in a new place and take root easier.

The second and fourth phases of the moon are a suitable period for sowing seeds in the ground and grafting plants. If you need to plant dry seeds, this should be done in advance, 2 to 3 days in advance. During the II and IV phases of the Moon, plants actively absorb and direct moisture into their green part (growing above the ground) and nutrients therefore, vaccinations made during this period will be the most successful.

By folk omens, on the growing moon, plants should be planted in the ground and sown for the sake of fruits, berries, stems, seeds. At the same time, they are engaged in cuttings and grafting. Watering is carried out, mineral fertilizers are applied for top dressing.

If the plant is valuable for its roots, bulbs (what develops underground), they try to plant it on the waning moon, in the second half of the lunar cycle. At this time, legumes are also recommended to be planted. During these periods, work is carried out to protect plants from pests and weeds, formative pruning that slows down growth, apply organic fertilizers and harvest.

Within 12 hours before and after the onset of the new moon and full moon, as well as directly on these days it is recommended to give the plants a rest. Do not carry out any work with them, do not plant seedlings, do not sow seeds.

On the new moon, you can do cleaning the site, removing weeds and working to protect against pests.

On the full moon, also engage in protection from pests and weeds, weed and thin out densely planted seedlings. You can carry out moderate watering of plants.

And, of course, it is worth remembering that the lunar calendar contains only advisory information, and is not an instruction for relentless implementation. Work with plants is best done under favorable conditions. weather conditions, focusing on the condition of the soil (its readiness for sowing) and the availability of free time.

To help gardeners and gardeners, this video is from simple advice about the correct planting of plants, taking into account the phases of the moon:

Some people answer this question without hesitation: the moon is covered by the shadow of the Earth. This is the wrong answer, because the shadow of the Earth is always directed in the direction opposite to the Sun, and Moon, moving in its orbit, circumnavigates the earth on all sides.

“Astronomers carefully study the motion of the moon and describe it formula, containing a total of about 700 component, and the calculations are carried out with an accuracy up to 15 decimal places”(I.A. Klimishin “Astronomy of Our Days”, M. “Nauka”, third edition, p. 95).

Such accuracy is necessary for astronautics.

In this article, without going into details, we will consider only the simplest question: why does the appearance of the Moon change, or, in other words, why does the change occur? lunar phases and conditions of their visibility.

The figure shows that wherever the Moon is in orbit, half of it is illuminated by the Sun, here it is day on the Moon, and the second half is dark, night. An observer from Earth can only see the side of the Moon that faces the Earth. Only the part that is illuminated by the Sun is visible from it. The outer circle of the figure shows what the Moon looks like from the point of view of an observer standing on the Earth. In position (1), a large part of the night side of the Moon and a small fraction of the day side are facing the earthly observer, it is she who looks like a narrow crescent. With each passing day, the Moon advances in its orbit, as shown by the arrow, and the appropriate earthly observer is able to see an increasing fraction of the day side of the Moon. In positions (2) and (3) it is seen that the Moon is gradually "growing".

In position (4), the Moon is opposite the Sun, the entire day side of the Moon is facing the Earth. This phase is called the full moon. Why didn't the Moon fall into the shadow of the Earth, directed in the direction opposite to the Sun? Because the plane of the lunar orbit is inclined to the plane of the earth's orbit at an angle of 5 degrees 9 minutes, and the Earth's shadow usually passes by the Moon. The moon falls into the earth's shadow only during lunar eclipses, the conditions for the onset of which must be considered specially.

After the full moon, the daytime fraction of the Moon, visible from the Earth, gradually decreases - phases (5), (6), (7). The latter is again a narrow sickle, but from the point of view of an observer standing on the Earth in position (7), its horns are directed in the direction opposite to the growing sickle and resemble the letter "C".

Then comes the new moon phase (8). The moon is above the day side of the Earth, the night side is turned to the Earth and is lost in the bright daytime sky. At this time, the nights are dark, moonless.

To make it easier to figure out when which phases are visible, the drawing is made in such a way that we look at the Earth and the Moon's orbit "from above", with north pole Earth, which is placed in the center of the picture. The sun's rays illuminate the day half of the Earth. The arrow shows the direction of the daily rotation of the Earth and, accordingly, the change of day to evening, night and morning. Approximately 28 Earth days (a lunar month) will elapse in the time it takes for the Moon to make a complete revolution around the Earth. Phase change occurs gradually and continuously. 3-4 days pass between the described phases.

The duration of the lunar month differs from the duration of the solar month, so the same lunar phases fall on different dates of our solar calendar.

Due to the movement of the Moon in its orbit, its rise, culmination and setting occur almost 50 minutes later than on the previous day, so the visibility of the Moon shifts to an increasingly later time.

In position (1), the young sickle rose before dark and before it sets beyond the western horizon, it can be seen in the early evening after sunset. In position (2), the moon rises at sunset and is visible all evening. In position (3), the visibility time is shifted to the first half of the night. In a full moon (4), the moon shines all night. After the full moon, the visibility of the moon first passes to the second half of the night (5), then to the morning (6) and to twilight before sunrise (7). During the new moon, the moon is not visible at all.

Sun and earth in the sky of the moon

The disk of the Earth is 15 times larger than the lunar one visible from the Earth, in addition, the Earth shines much brighter than our Moon, as it reflects 40% of sunlight (oceans, ice, clouds), and the Moon only 12% (basalts, dusty areas ). As the Moon moves in orbit, an observer on the Moon sees the changing phases of the Earth, but the boundary between the light and dark regions of the Earth is not clear, but blurred due to clouds and light scattered in the atmosphere. From the Moon you can see how clouds float above the Earth, notice the daily rotation of the Earth, because during the lunar day it makes thirty revolutions around its axis.

Let's see what happens in the sky of the Moon during its day.

Here in the east the sky began to brighten, but this is not dawn, the corona of the Sun is slowly rising from behind the horizon. When the Sun rises in the black sky with a crown, the Earth looks like a half: part of the day and part of the night. The sun rises very slowly, because the day lasts 15 of our days. While the Sun reaches its highest position, the light part of the Earth decreases, turning into a thin sickle, supplemented to a circle by a light blurred border.

At lunar noon, the Earth faces the Moon at night, its dark disk surrounded by an orange-red halo. The fact is that sunlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, and the size of the particles of the Earth's atmosphere is such that they scatter the short-wave, blue, light of the solar spectrum, and the long-wave, red-orange, passes through the atmosphere freely. This phase can be called a new earth by analogy with the new moon. In the afternoon, the Sun slowly sinks to the west, and the crescent of the Earth gradually grows and turns into a half by sunset.

The night time is coming. At lunar midnight, the Earth faces the Moon with its day side, the full disk of the Earth illuminates the lunar landscape with a bluish-greenish light. so blue earth atmosphere and green areas of the Earth change the reflected sunlight.

By the next sunrise, the Earth will again take the form of a half-disk.

RMR_astra writes:

In the black starry sky of the Moon, the Sun rises and sets, and the Earth, swaying slightly, stands in one place.

It's not a joke. The earth can rise. It all depends on where the observer is on the surface of the moon. And these sunrises and sunsets are connected with ....

Correctly. With the libration (wiggle) of the Moon in latitude and longitude.

And the day lasts longer than a day

The lunar day lasts 14 Earth days, the night lasts the same, the lunar day is equal to the lunar month. Why such long days? Why does the moon rotate so slowly on its axis?

Once it rotated faster, but the Earth slowed it down. The Earth causes a tidal wave in the body of the Moon. The moon rotated around its axis, and the tidal wave, which is always directed towards the Earth, rolled over the surface of the moon in the direction opposite to its rotation.

Now the Moon rotates so that the tidal hump does not roll, but always "looks" at the Earth. Therefore, the shape of the Moon slightly resembles an egg, and therefore the Moon always faces the Earth with its more convex side.

Only about half of the moon is visible from Earth, and earthlings first saw what the opposite side looks like when the Soviet Luna-3 station transmitted its image to Earth.

How little we even know about the moon. I stick lunar calendar when working in the country, visiting a hairdresser. Resolve the issue, dear RMR_astra.

If the moon is turned to us the same way all the time, why then in the lunar calendar in different months happens 28, 29 or 30 lunar days?

It is convenient to divide your question into two questions: is the side of the moon facing us equal to half of its surface, and how correctly does the lunar calendar describe its movement.

We have already noted that the motion of the Moon is very complex, therefore, as before, we will take into account only the main factors. The orbit of the moon is not a circle, but an ellipse, so it becomes possible to look either behind the left side of the lunar disk, or behind the right, so not 0.5, but 0.6 shares of the lunar surface are accessible from the Earth.

The period of the daily rotation of the Moon coincides with its complete revolution around the Earth relative to the stars (27.3 Earth days), and the phases of the Moon are determined by the full revolution of the Moon around the Earth relative to the Sun. This period is slightly longer, since in one revolution the Moon, together with the Earth, has time to move along the Earth's orbit (29.5 Earth days). Since these inaccuracies are not visible to the naked eye, as a first approximation, it is considered that half of the Moon is visible from the Earth.

The lunar calendar is based on a period of phase change, contains 12 lunar months, and the length of the year is 355 days, that is, 10 days less than the solar calendar, corresponding to the seasons of agricultural work. Over time, the lunar and solar calendars diverged so much that, in order to bring them together, in some countries they added the 13th month to the lunar calendar (not every year), while in others they preferred to add days to some months. These calendar changes practically do not affect the correctness of the determination of the lunar phases and the validity of the statement that the Moon faces the Earth on one side.

It should also be noted that the illumination of the earth's surface by the Sun is almost 1,000,000 times greater than by the full Moon.

I am not interested in predictions of either the lunar or astrological calendar, but in connection with your question, I read it on the Internet.

Scientific prediction differs from pseudoscientific one in that in the first case it answers the questions “Why?”, “How?”, “What is the mechanism of influence?” and others. For example, by studying the movements of the Moon and the Earth, one can predict when solar eclipse, in what areas it will be observed, how long it will last, what fraction of the Sun will be covered by the Moon.

In the second case, the listed questions do not even arise either for the authors or for the users of their predictions. Because of misunderstanding, they say: “Probably, there is something in this.”

But you are a thinking person, try to understand what is the connection between the Moon and your hair. If you explain to me, I will be grateful to you.

Good afternoon, dear RMR_astra.

Thanks to you, I understood why a variety of information from the Internet is not assimilated. She is impersonal. And when the ray of knowledge is directed personally at you, it hits the target. Now the difference between the words "about half" and "exactly half" is clear.

The lunar calendar before your question was not in doubt at all. I know summer residents well who always adhere to the lunar calendar, and their fruits ripen faster than their neighbors. But this can of course be explained. the best care and constant care. They even talk to plants and treat them as if they were alive.

Relationship between the Moon and hair. If there really is no scientific explanation, then this is the concept of FAITH. Some patients recover after taking a placebo pacifier, why not believe in the power of the growing moon?

If we observe the Moon for a month, we will notice that it gradually changes its appearance from a full disk to a narrow crescent and then, after 2-3 days, when it is invisible, in reverse order - from a crescent to a full disk. At the same time, the shape, or phases, of the Moon changes from month to month strictly periodically. They also change their appearance the planets Mercury and Venus, but only for a longer period of time. The phase change occurs due to periodic changes in the lighting conditions of the named celestial bodies in relation to the observer. Illumination depends on the relative position of the Sun, the Earth and each of the considered bodies.

The phases of the moon and its appearance for the earthly observer.

When the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth on a straight line connecting these two luminaries, in this position the unlit part of the lunar surface faces the Earth, and we do not see it. This phase is the new moon. 1–2 days after the new moon, the Moon moves away from the straight line connecting the centers of the Sun and the Earth, and we can see a narrow lunar crescent from the Earth, bulging towards the Sun.

During the new moon, that part of the moon that is not illuminated by direct sunlight is still slightly visible against the dark background of the sky. This glow was called the ashen light of the moon. Leonardo da Vinci was the first to correctly explain the reason for this phenomenon: ashen light arises due to the sun's rays reflected from the Earth, which at that time is facing the moon. for the most part its sunlit hemisphere.

A week after the new moon, the terminator - the boundary of the illuminated by the Sun and the dark part of the lunar disk - takes on the form of a straight line for an earthly observer. The illuminated part of the Moon is exactly half of the visible disk; this phase of the moon is called the first quarter. Since at those points of the Moon that are on the terminator, a lunar day later sets in, the terminator in this period of time is called morning.

Two weeks after the new moon, the Moon is again on the line connecting the Sun and the Earth, but this time not between them, but on the other side of the Earth. The full moon is when we see the full disk of the moon illuminated. The two phases of the moon - new moon and full moon - are common name syzygy. During syzygies, eclipses of the Sun and Moon, as well as some other phenomena, can occur. So, for example, it is during the period of syzygy that sea tides reach their greatest magnitude (see Ebb and flow).

After the full moon, the illuminated part of the Moon begins to decrease, and the evening terminator is visible from the Earth, that is, the border of that region of the Moon where night falls. Three weeks after the new moon, we again observe exactly half of the moon's disk illuminated. The observed phase is the last quarter. The visible crescent of the Moon becomes narrower day by day, and, having gone through a full cycle of changes, the Moon is completely hidden from view by the time of the new moon. The full period of phase change - the synodic month - is 29.53 days.

From the new moon to the full moon, the moon is called young or growing, after the full moon - old. It is very easy to distinguish the crescent of the growing moon from the waning crescent of the old moon. If (in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth) the appearance of a sickle resembles the letter C, then the Moon is old. If, having mentally drawn a wand, you can turn the moon crescent into the letter P, then this is the growing Moon.

The planets Mercury and Venus are also observed in different phases, which is clearly visible through a telescope. People with exceptionally sharp eyesight can observe the phases of Venus even with the naked eye. The telescope clearly shows how the view of the crescent of Venus changes. After the invention of the telescope, the observation of this very phenomenon served as evidence that all planets are spherical and visible due to reflected sunlight.