1. MOON LAB 4

2. LAB 4.1 As seen from space, half the Moon is illuminated and half is dark at each position as it orbits Earth. The exception to this is when the Moon is in the shadow of Earth – an eclipse.

3. WHY DOES THE MOON ALWAYS PRESENT THE SAME FACE TO US? The moon is not stuck in place with one side facing us. Our lunar companion rotates while it orbits Earth. It’s just that the amount of time it takes the moon to complete a rotation on its axis is the same it takes to circle our planet — about 27 days. As a result, the same lunar hemisphere always faces Earth.

4. Waxing We say the moon is waxing when it appears to be getting larger. Waning We say the moon is waning when it appears to be getting smaller.

5. P. 62 #1A Depending on the relative positions of the Moon and Earth, only a certain portion of the Moon’s illuminated side is visible from Earth.. If only a small part of the illuminated side is visible from Earth, a crescent moon is seen. If the entire illuminated side of the Moon is visible from Earth, a full moon is seen.

6. #1B It takes approximately a month for the Moon to go through its phases, since it takes a little less than one month for the Moon to orbit Earth, but a little longer for the Moon to catch up to Earth as it orbits around the Sun. Since there are eight phases and approximately 30 days in a month it takes the Moon approximately 3 to 4 days to go through each phases.

7. #1C The Moon is visible in the daytime sky, depending on its position as it orbits Earth. If the Moon is located on the side of Earth that faces the Sun – such as during the waxing and waning crescent phases – the moon is visible in the daytime sky. If the moon is located on the side of Earth that faces away from the Sun – such as during the full moon and gibbous phases – the Moon is visible in the nighttime sky.

8. #1D During a 24 hour period, everyone on Earth will see essentially the same phase of the Moon, since the Moon moves only a short distance in its orbit relative to Earth as Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis.