Moon Phases

In the full moon phase the side of the moon that can be observed from earth becomes illuminated by the sun n its entirety. Lastly, the aforementioned illuminated portion begins to shrink or wane and thus the moon is considered to be in the waning gibbous phase, meaning that the illuminated portion is constricts in size or diameter every day.

The new moon is the first phase of the lunar cycle. It occurs when the Moon and Sun are lined up on the same side of the Earth so that the moon is not visible from Earth. Next, the waxing crescent moon phase is displayed whereby the Moon’s surface is less than half lit up. The word waxing means that the light side of the Moon is moving towards the full moon phase. A person viewing the Moon from the Northern Hemisphere will see a waxing moon if any portion of the left side of the Moon is dark and the right side is illuminated. If the Moon is observed on consecutive nights during the waxing phase, they will notice that the light section of the Moon is actually growing during this phase. The next phase is the first quarter moon, which is often referred to as a half-moon because half of the Moon, the right side, is illuminated. The phrase first quarter is not used to describe the shape of the Moon but is used to express that the Moon has completed a quarter of its orbit around the earth. At this point, the Sun and Moon are at a 90-degree angle in relation to the earth. Next in the moon cycle is the waxing gibbous which is characterized by more than half of the Moon being illuminated and the left portion of the Moon displaying a smaller shadow area.

the moon 's orbit around the Earth, and the planets ' motions around the Sun. The

Have you ever considered that the moon may not be exactly what it seems to be? Science says that the moon was a result of the Earth colliding with another planet, causing a rocky mass to break free from the earth and be pulled into orbit by the force of gravity. Conspiracy theorists have considered the possibility that the moon may be something more than just a rocky mass orbiting the earth. A theory that has been created regarding our moon is called The Hollow Moon Theory. This theory tries to prove that the moon may just be a cover or a protective layer around an alien's UFO. It may be hard for some to go against scientific research, but there is a possibility that something other than a collision is responsible for the formation of our moon.

Is there a dark side of the moon? (Note: this question can be effectively answered either yes or no, so it is important to explain your reasoning.) Some people refer to the side of the moon that we never see from Earth as the dark side. However, this is inaccurate since the far side is not always dark. For example, during the new moon, when the side facing Earth is completely dark, the other side of the moon is facing the sun, so it is in full sunlight. Since the Moon rotates at the same time it takes to orbit Earth, both sides of the

between light and shadow) from the north pole to the south pole of the moon. This is how the moon would be seen if it were on the observer’s meridian. We can use the drawing above to determine the amount of illumination and whether it is on the left or right hand side of the moon. Use the drawing above to draw the appearance of the moon in the box below.

Lunar phase (or Moon phase) refers to the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. The lunar phases vary cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the changing relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. One half of the lunar

17. Why does the Moon change its phase, how does it move, and how do these combine to create eclipses?

Is there a dark side of the moon? (Note: this question can be effectively answered either

| 2. If there is a full moon visible from Paris one evening, twelve hours later in Australia there will be a _________ visible. Answer

This happens because the moon revolves around the Earth in the same direction that the Earth is rotating on its axis. Therefore, it takes the Earth an extra 50 minutes to catch up to the moon.

To begin with, the moon is Earth’s main source of light at night. The moon itself is not actually a light source; it is a reflective surface like a mirror (Cain, website). Mitton said in his book Eyewitness Moon that the sun’s beams illuminate the moon, thus giving it the appearance of having light (Mitton, 10). Even though the moon reflects only seven to

The moon, similar to other stars, is in a perpetual motion. “The cycle of the phases and the Moon’s changing position against the stars are caused by the Moon’s orbital motion around the Earth.” (Thomas. Page 27) The Position of the Moon toward the Sun and the Earth determine its phases. In addition, when the Moon and the Earth are in the same line with the Sun, Eclipses can occur. During this Lab activity, I try to understand the phases of the Moon and Eclipses by studding the moon phase diagram and by simulating the Moon’s motions. The result of this simulation are presented in the next part of this document.

I) According to my previous observation with the full moon, this observation was less lit up than before. There was a small sliver of darkness that appeared now on the right side of the moon from where I was standing.

There is a total of eight Phases of the moon. The first stage of the moon is new the moon. The second stage of the moon is Waxing Crescent. The third stage of the moon is the First Quarter. The fourth stage of the moon is Waxing Crescent. The fifth stage of the moon is the Full Moon. The sixth stage of the moon is Waning Gibbous. The seventh stage of the moon is Last Quarter. The eighth stage of the moon is Waning Crescent.