How to Track the Altitude & Azimuth of the Moon

Azimuth Measurement

• 1

  Rest the compass as flat as possible in your hand. Note where the moon is in degrees, starting from North and proceeding clockwise. For example, a reading of West would be written as +270.

• 2

  Record this reading in a chart as the azimuth of the Moon.

• 3

  Take multiple recordings of the moon at different times over the course of a night or a series of nights. Record all measurements along with the time, date and location.

Altitude Measurement

• 4

  Rest an arm of the drafting compass on the ground as flat as possible. This arm should be pointing in the general direction of the Moon.

• 5

  Point the free arm to the Moon.

• 6

  Pickup the compass and carefully rest the protractor over the two arms. The "zero" point should rest on one arm while the measurement is read where the free arm is set.

• 7

  Record this number as the altitude of the Moon along with the time, date and location of the measurement. Repeat several times over one night or a series of nights in order to obtain multiple readings.

Graphing Data

• 8

  Set up a graph with the time along the horizontal, x-axis, spaced in even intervals.

• 9

  Write the degree measurements along the vertical, y-axis, from 0 to 360.

• 10

  Place a dot at every point the time and azimuth measurement intersects. For example, a reading of 90 degrees at 8pm would be a dot where 8pm and 90 degree intersect.

• 11

  Connect the dots from left to right to form a graph of the Moon's progress.

• 12

  Repeat the graphing process for the altitude as well. This will track the movement of the moon over the period of time the experiment was done.