The Moon Part I

People love to look at the Moon at night,

but the Moon is so bright in the sky that we can even see it during the day.

The Moon looks especially pretty reflected in water.

The Moon goes around and around the Earth: the Moon orbits the Earth.

As the Moon travels around the Earth, the Moon looks like it changes. This video is made from a whole month of pictures.

When the Moon is in between the Sun and the Earth, we can’t see the Moon. It is a New Moon.

Then we see a crescent moon. It is waxing—that means it’s getting bigger.

and bigger…

and bigger… it is waxing…

Now it is a quarter moon…but sometimes this is called a half moon.

Now the Moon is gibbous. It is bigger than half.

It is still waxing…

Finally the Moon is full. It looks like a big, full circle.

Until now, the Moon was waxing. Next, it is going to get smaller. It will start waning.

Now the Moon is waning (getting smaller). It is gibbous again.

It’s waning some more…

and now it’s a half moon (or quarter moon) again!

It’s a crescent moon again, still waning…

still waning, this crescent moon is almost gone!

Look at the next page. When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, it is a New Moon, and you can’t see it. But when the Moon is away from the Sun, it is full!

You know that the Sun makes shadows on the ground, like this.

Did you know that the whole Earth has a shadow? It does, it has a big shadow!

What happens when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow? We see a lunar eclipse. It looks like this.

The shadow is round, isn’t it? That is because the Earth is round!

Usually, the Earth’s shadow looks reddish on the Moon, like this!

And doesn’t the Moon have a shadow? Yes, look!

And sometimes, the Earth goes into the Moon’s shadow. That is called a solar eclipse.

Here is what the Moon’s shadow looks like on the Earth. See the dark spot? It is the Moon’s shadow.

What if you’re standing inside that dark spot? What does it look like when the Moon goes in front of the Sun? Like this!

total solar eclipse

During a total solar eclipse, it looks like it is night outside!

The End