Phases of the Moon Page 67
Why does the moon appear to shine?
It is reflecting light from the sun. Why does the moon appear to shine? It is reflecting light from the sun. Only the side of the moon facing the sun lights up! Half of the moon is always lit up. We don’t always see the side that is lit!
Why do we always see the same face/side of the moon? (“the man on the moon”) The moon completes one rotation (spin) in the same time it takes to revolve around the Earth.
What is the orbit of the moon like? The Moon’s orbit is a slightly tipped Ellipse (compared to the orbit of Earth around the sun.)
Visible portion of the moon as seen from Earth. What is a moon phase? Visible portion of the moon as seen from Earth.
How long does it take for the moon to go through all of it’s phases? 29.5 days, or about a month! Tip-think of it as a moonth!
Lit portion is increasing in size. Lit portion is decreasing in size. New Moon Full Moon Waxing Crescent Waning Gibbous First Quarter Third Quarter Waxing Gibbous Waning Crescent Waxing: Waning: Lit portion is increasing in size. Lit portion is decreasing in size.
DreamWorX= WaXing
“Crescent”
Try it! Try to draw a model of where the moon would need to be, relative to the Sun and Earth, in order to see each phase:
Phases of the Moon Sunlight Sunlight Earth The general locations and orientations for the phases of the moon. (7) Third Quarter (6) Waning Gibbous (8) Waning Crescent Sunlight Earth (1) New Moon (5) Full Moon Sunlight Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. Earth spins on its axis in the same direction as the moon’s orbit. (2) Waxing Crescent (4) Waxing Gibbous (3) First Quarter
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (1) New Moon Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. NEW MOON Wherever the person looks all they see is shadowed moon. What time of day is it for the observer? Noon!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (2) Waxing Crescent Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. WAXING CRESCENT When you look up you see only a small crescent brightly lit. (Right Side) What time of day is it for the observer? 3PM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (3) First Quarter Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. FIRST QUARTER When you look up you see one half of the front face of the Moon brightly lit. (Right side) What time of day is it for the observer? Sunset - 6PM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (4) Waxing Gibbous Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. WAXING GIBBOUS When you look up you see only a small crescent, darkly shadowed, on the left. What time of day is it for the observer? 9PM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (5) Full Moon Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. FULL MOON When you look up you see the entire face of the Moon brightly lit. What time of day is it for the observer? Midnight-12AM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Sunlight Earth (6) Waning Gibbous Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. WANING GIBBOUS When you look up you see only a small crescent, darkly shadowed, on the right. What time of day is it for the observer? 3AM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face Sunlight Earth (7) Third Quarter How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. THIRD QUARTER When you look up you see one half of the front face of the Moon brightly lit. (Left side) What time of day is it for the observer? Sunrise - 6AM!!
Perspective & The Moon’s Face Sunlight Earth (8) Waning Crescent How much of the moon’s face does the person see? Note: If you have internet explorer 5.0 and beyond you will need to Use the mouse button to advance through these slides. For Netscape Navigator the graphics show as a static picture. WANING CRESCENT When you look up you see only a small crescent brightly lit. (Left Side) What time of day is it for the observer? 9AM!!