MOON PHASES

LUNAR TERMS Wax: when the illuminated portion of the moon’s surface increases in size. Wane: when the illuminated portion of the moon’s surface decreases in size. Crescent: when the illuminated portion of the moon’s surface is less than half and concave shaped. Gibbous: when the illuminated portion of the moon’s surface is more than half and convex shaped.

MOON 92,960,000 miles EARTH

EARTH MOON 238,900 miles

New Moon: This is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, at which time no light is visible from Earth.

Waxing Crescent: This is the lunar phase when the Moon is between New Moon and First Quarter. A small portion of the right hand side is illuminated and visible from Earth.

First Quarter: This is the lunar phase when the moon is halfway between the New Moon and Full moon, with the lighted half being on the right side.

Waxing Gibbous: This is the lunar phase when the Moon is between the First Quarter and Full Moon. More than half of the surface is illuminated.

Full Moon: This is the lunar phase when the portion of the Moon’s surface facing Earth is fully illuminated. At this point in orbit, the Earth is positioned between the Sun and Moon.

Waning Gibbous: This is the lunar phase when the Moon is between the Full Moon and Third Quarter Moon. It appears to be more than halfway illuminated, but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The illumination is decreasing.

Third Quarter: This is the lunar phase when the moon is halfway between the Full Moon and the New Moon. The left-hand half of the moon is illuminated.

Waning Crescent: This is the phase of the moon between Third Quarter and New Moon. A small portion of the left-hand side of the moon is illuminated.

FIRST QUARTER WAXING GIBBOUS WAXING CRESCENT FULL NEW WANING GIBBOUS DIAGRAM NOT TO SCALE FIRST QUARTER WAXING GIBBOUS WAXING CRESCENT FULL NEW WANING GIBBOUS WANING CRESCENT THIRD QUARTER

TIME TO PRACTICE

New Moon

Waxing Crescent

First Quarter

Waxing Gibbous

Full Moon

Waning Gibbous

Third Quarter

Waning Crescent

First Quarter

Waxing Crescent

Full Moon

New Moon

Waxing Gibbous

Waning Crescent

Waning Gibbous

Third Quarter

MOON FACTS How long is a day on the Moon? One day on the Moon is 27 days, 7 hours, and 43.2 minutes long (in Earth time). This is the amount of time it takes the Moon to complete one full rotation on its axis. The reason why a day on the Moon is so long is because Earth’s gravitational pull on the Moon slowed its rotation until the same side of the Moon always faced the Earth. This means that one day on the Moon lasts for the same amount of time that it takes for the Moon to make one complete orbit around Earth.

MOON FACTS What is the temperature on the Moon? Due to the fact that the Moon has no atmosphere to block some of the sun’s light or to help trap heat, the temperature on the Moon’s surface ranges from extremely hot during the day to extremely cold at night. During the day the temperature on the Moon can reach 253 Fahrenheit, while at night it can drop to -387 Fahrenheit.

MOON FACTS How much would I weigh on the Moon? Because the Moon has one-sixth the gravity of Earth, you would weigh six times less than what you weigh on Earth. This is why the astronauts were able to move easily in their heavy space suits. If you weigh 85 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 14.16 pounds on the Moon.

THE END

Acknowledgements Clip art: http://openclipart.org/share (moon, earth, rocket, stars)