2. The revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes the Moon
appear as if it is changing shape in the sky. From Earth we see the
Moon grow from a thin crescent to a full disk (or full moon) and
then shrink back to a thin crescent again before vanishing for a
few days.
3. The Moon phases are produced by the alignment of the Moon
and the Sun in the sky. The lit part of the Moon always points the
way to the Sun. What is the phase of the moon? The lunar phase is
the amount of the Moon you can see from Earth depending on how much
of it is lit up by the sun. This amount changes each day. What
causes part of the Moon to be lit up? The moon is illuminated
because it reflects the light from the sun. The part of the moon
facing the sun is lit up. The part facing away from the sun is in
darkness.
4. What causes the different Moon? phases of the The phases of
the Moon depend on its position in relation to the Sun and Earth.
As the Moon makes its way around the Earth, we see the bright parts
of the Moon's surface at different angles. These are called
"phases" of the Moon. What are the different phases of the Moon
called? The phases of the moon work in a cycle starting with the
new moon. A complete cycle of the Moon's phases from new Moon to
full Moon takes twenty nine and a half days. Did you know?
Countries near the equator see the crescent moon shaped like a
smile?
5. The phases are named after how much of the moon we can see,
and whether the amount visible is increasing, or decreasing each
day. Phases of the moon as seen in the Northern Hemisphere Phases
of the moon as seen in the Northern Hemisphere Phases of the moon
as seen in the Southern Hemisphere It takes our Moon about 29.5
days to completely cycle through all eight phases. This is known as
a Lunar month Why are the phases different in each hemisphere? The
Moon orbits near the equator of the Earth. In the northern
hemisphere, we're standing on the opposite side of the globe from
countries in the southern hemisphere i.e. we are "upside down" from
each other! We therefore see the Moon from a completely different
vantage point from each other.
6. The waxing crescent moon grows till it is about half full in
the phase we call first quarter. From there it grows to full moon
and then begins to shrink back to third quarter, waning crescent
and finally back to new moon.
7. Ss u n Waning crescent Last quarter (Half Moon) Waning
gibbous Day 25 Day 21 Day 17 The Moon is 90 degrees west of the sun
The images below show the different phases of the moon in one Lunar
month for the Northern Hemisphere
8. When the bright part is getting bigger, the Moon is waxing.
When it is getting smaller, the Moon is waning. When the Moon is
more than half-lit, it is called a gibbous Moon. When the moon is
less than half-lit, it is called a crescent Moon.
9. Show What You Know In your journals describe the eight
phases of the moon. Include any real world connections you shared
earlier. Analyze the differences between the moons appearance in
the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. Explain why the moon appears
different.