Phases of the Moon

What do you think about when you see the moon's 'shapes' changing? Do you think that there are many moons changing everyday, or do you think you are just seeing one moon change? What causes the moon to change, and what are these changes called? They are called the moon's phases. They appear because the moon is orbiting around the Earth, leading us to think that there is more than one moon. The shape of the moon varies from a full moon (which is when the Earth is between the sun and the moon) to a new moon (which is the moon being between the sun and the Earth).

When we look at the moon and we only see half of its surface, which is the side that is facing us. We can observe that as the moon orbits our Earth, the side of the moon, which is facing us is full of light (illuminated) by the sunlight. So when we look at the moon, sometimes we see some parts that are light (by the sun) and some parts that are shadowed. For example, if you have a look at the First Quarter moon, half of it is a shadow and the other half is light (which comes from the sun). We can see only part of it which is illuminated by the sun. This means that if the moon is between the Earth and the Sun, we won't see it because there is no illumination from its surface that can be seen the Earth's surface. As the angle between Earth sun axes changes, the appearance of the moon will change too. So, in a moment we will see it as a full moon, and that happens when the Earth is between the Moon and the Sun, so the whole "Half-Ball" of the moon is illuminated. When I was small, I used to ask myself- why would somebody cut moon energy weight?! :)

Phases of the moon Reflection

In science class, we explored a variety of things about the phases of the moon. We did a lab, we did an activity (creating a moon clock) we read a section in our textbook, and we looked at a simulation of the moon phases and how they work.

My favorite activity was creating a moon clock- because it helped me understand the moon better. Our teacher had us record when each phase rose at which time. I noticed that when the moon is at noon, we don't actually see it, so it becomes a new moon. At sunset, we see a First Quarter, and at midnight, we see a Full Moon. Finally, at sunrise we see a Third Quarter (Last Quarter). Also, when the sun is on one side, the moon has a lot of light from that side, however, we as people see it differently because it orbits around the Earth. A lunar month is the amount of time it takes for the moon to pass through each of its phases. A lunar month takes a;proximately 30 days to reach the next new moon from the starting new moon- and this is called a Synodic month.