Greetings everyone! The other day, in the teachers lunch room,
we were talking about how the mood of some of the students fluctuate. A
couple of the teachers feel that it is based on the phase of the moon and
its gravitational pull.
I tried explaining that gravity depends upon the mass and
distance of the object. It appears as though that they think that if
part of the moon is not luminated, then it must be missing (out of sight,
out of mind). I tried to explain that just because you can't see the
moon, it does not mean that it is not there.
What I'm wondering, is there any measurable changes in gravity
due to the moon phases? My guess is that the gravitational pull on earth
is greatest when the moon is between earth and the sun. Isn't that phase
a new moon? If so, wouldn't the gravitational pull be strongest during a
solar eclipse?
Personally, I feel that the correlation between the phase of the
moon and people's attitudes is all in their head. Now excuse me while I
itch because of flees. :-)