Moon Phases, Eclipses, Tides and Seasons

The New Moon  The new moon is totally dark  When the moon is between the sun and the earth its sunlit side is turned away from the earth  Earthshine (sunlight reflected off the earth towards the moon) can dimly illuminate the totally dark moon

On the way to Full we Wax  The phases on the way to full  Waxing Crescent (less than half lit)  First quarter  Waxing Gibbous (more than half lit)  Full

From Full to New we Wane  The phases on the way to new  Waning gibbous (more than half lit)  Last quarter  Waning crescent (less than half lit)  New

The Phases Illustrated

Moon Phases Recap

Eclipses  The partial or total blocking of one object in space by another.

Shadow vocabulary  Penumbra: The larger, less dark portion of a shadow.  Umbra: The smaller darker portion of a shadow.

Main Types of Eclipses  Solar  Lunar

Solar Eclipses  The blocking of sunlight to Earth that occurs when the moon is directly between the sun and the earth.

Lunar Eclipses  The blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon.

Partial Eclipses  Lunar  Solar  Annular

Partial Lunar Eclipse  Occurs when the sun, earth and moon are not quite in line.  Occurs when the moon passes partly into the umbra of Earth’s shadow.

Partial Solar Eclipse  Where people in the penumbra can still see an extremely bright portion of the sun.

Annular Eclipse  When the moon is farther away from the Earth, and appears smaller and cannot quite cover the entire sun.  A ring appears  Type of partial solar eclipse

Tides  Caused mainly by differences in how much the moon’s gravity pulls on different parts of the earth.  The periodic rise and fall of the level of water in the ocean.

Types of Tides  Spring Tide  Neap Tides

Differences in tides

Types of Tides  Daily Ocean Tides  Occur Twice Daily  Tides happen about every 12.5 hours  2 high tides  2 low tides

Questions….  During which moon phase does a spring tide occur?

Full Moon and New Moon

Questions….  During what moon phase does Neap tide occur?

First Quarter and Third Quarter

Questions….  What type of tide occurs when it is not a full, new, 1 st quarter, or 3 rd quarter moon?

Answer  The tides will continue to rise and fall with the gravity of the moon at regular 6 hrs rising and 6 hrs falling.  Regular Cycle

Questions….  How often do Neap Tides occur?

Questions….  How often do Spring Tides occur?

Seasons  The tilt is the reason for the season!

Seasons