1. Observed Phases of the Moon R. Rogers, Nov 29, 2011 8 th Grade Science Butler Middle School Full moon on Dec 10 Tonight Nov 29

2. Phases of the Moon as it revolves around the Earth They always follow one another in the same order Sun

3. Why does the Moon change shape? From day to day we view the bright part of the moon’s surface from different angles so it appears to change shape as it revolves around us The different shapes, called phases, depend on how much of the illuminated half of the moon faces earth

4. New and Full Moons We would expect a new moon to block sunlight from hitting the earth We would expect the earth to block sunlight from reaching a full moon However, we only see the expected once in a great while Sun Light New Full

5. Motion of Moon and Earth Orbital plane of moon is tilted 5º from earth’s orbital plane, this causes a misalignment of the earth, moon, and sun

6. Eclipse Once in awhile, the earth, moon, and sun do "line up”, this is called an eclipse Eclipses are rare –Roughly 4 to 7 occur in any given year, but most of them are minor or "partial" eclipses. They can occur two ways –Solar Eclipse –Lunar Eclipse

7. Solar Eclipse – Only during a New Moon The moon casts a shadow on the Earth, people in shadow experience a brief period of darkness during the day

8. Actual Solar Eclipse Partial Total moon

9. Lunar Eclipse – Only during a Full Moon The earth casts a shadow on the full moon

10. Actual Lunar Eclipse Sequence of photos showing Earth’s shadow on the Moon

11. Solar Eclipse Lunar Eclipse Sun M E Sun E M

12. Next Eclipse?