THE SUN, EARTH, & MOON Phases of the Moon
Som omething thing to Thi o Think k Abou out! t! ■ Rotation: – When an object rotates, it spins on its axis ■ The Earth makes one complete rotation on its axis every 24 hours ■ The Moon makes one complete rotation in approximately 28 days ■ Revolution: – When an object Revolves, it moves around another object ■ The Earth revolves around the Sun ■ The Moon revolves around the Earth
Th The e Sun un, , Ea Earth, th, an and d Mo Moon on ■ The Sun is the center of the solar system ■ The Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours – Cause of day and night on Earth ■ The Earth has one moon – The moon makes one complete revolution around the Earth every 28 days
Al All A l Abou out t Th The Mo e Moon on ■ The Moon is: – Earth’s only natural satellite – Approximately 384,400 km [238,855 miles] away from the Earth ■ Is the orbit of the Moon around the Earth perfectly circular? – No, the orbit of the moon is not a perfect circle. ■ When the moon is at the closest point [perigee] the moon is 225,804 miles away from the earth ■ When the moon is at the most distant point [apogee] the moon is 251,968 miles away from Earth
Ma Man n on on th the e Mo Moon on July 30, 1971 Apollo 15 astronaut Jim Irwin on the Moon with the first Lunar Roving Vehicle. Jim Irwin was the 8 th man to walk on the Moon
Mo Moon on Li Ligh ght ■ The Moon is not a star and does not give off light – The Moon reflects light from the Sun ■ The Moon is rotating on its axis and revolving around the Earth – The position of the Moon changes during the 29 and ½ day lunar cycle
Th The L e Lunar nar Cycl cle ■ As the Moon revolves around the Earth: – The shape of the Moon appears to change ■ Do you think that the shape of the moon actually changes? – Study the images of the lunar cycle before you answer
Mo More re Abou out t th the e Lunar nar Cycl cle The portion of the moon facing the sun reflects sunlight ■ Only the side of the moon facing the sun can reflect sunlight. ■ During much of the lunar cycle we can only see a portion of the sunlit moon ■ What do you think we see during a ‘new moon’? ■ What do we see when the moon is a crescent? The outside images are what we see when we look up at the moon from Earth
Views ws of of th the e Mo Moon on fr from om Ea Earth th ■ Green lines represent portions of the Moon we cannot see from Earth ■ White areas of the Moon are what we see from the Earth
A W Waxing axing Mo Moon on ■ When the Moon is said to be ‘Waxing’ – The sunlit part of the Moon at any time befor ore a full Moon – The sunlit part of the Moon we see is getting larger
A W Waning aning Mo Moon on ■ When the Moon is said to be ‘ Waning ’ – The sunlit part of the Moon at any time after a full Moon – The sunlit part of the Moon we see is getting smaller
Th The Ne e New Mo Moon on ■ During a new moon, we do not see the moon in the sky – The dark side of the moon is facing the Earth – The other side of the moon is very bright and facing the sun ■ Can you find the new moon in the picture to the right?
Th The W e Waxing xing Cre rescent scent Mo Moon on ■ When we see the ‘waxing crescent moon’ a thin sliver or crescent of the moon is visible. – When we are able to see a bit more of the moon, we say the moon is waxing. ■ Can you find the waxing crescent moon in the picture to the right?
Th The Qu e Quar arter er Mo Moon on ■ About one-week after the new moon, the moon has completed about one- quarter of its orbit around the Earth. – We are able to see one-half of the bright side of the moon. Actually, that is a quarter of the moon. ■ Can you find the waxing quarter moon in the image on the right?
Th The W e Waxing xing Gibbous bbous Mo Moon on ■ As the moon continue nues to orbit the Earth, h, we are re able to s see more of the bright ht portion on of the moon. – The gibb bbous mo moon is nearly y a full l mo moon – We call l it a waxing mo moon be because we can see mo more of the mo moon fro rom m Earth. ■ Can you find d the waxing xing gibbous s moon in the image ge on the right? t?
Th The F e Full ll Mo Moon on ■ When the moon is full, l, we are able to see the half of the moon n illum umin inat ated ed by the sun un. – The Su Sun, Earth th and d Moon n are nearly rly in a str traig ight t line. ne. ■ What other er time me during ing the moon’s orbit are the Sun, Earth, th, and Moon nearly rly in a straight raight line? e?
Th The W e Waning ning Gibbous bbous Mo Moon on ■ The waning ng gibbo bous us moon n is nearly rly a full moon n but we are seeing ing less ss of the moon. n. – We say th the moon n is wani ning ng and nd we call l th the mo moon n a g gibbo bbous us mo moon n beca cause use it t is nearly arly full ■ Can you find the e waning ng gibbous bbous moon on in n the image age to the right? ght?
Th The La e Last st Qu Quarter er ■ The portio tion n of the moon lit t by the sun un is growing wing smaller aller. – The left t half of th the mo moon n is illu lumin minated ed by th the sun ■ Can you find the e last t quarter er of the moon on in the image age on the right? ght?
Th The W e Waning ning Cre rescent scent Mo Moon on ■ As the moon n appear ars s to be smaller be ller and nd small ller er in n the sky, , it is called ed the wanin ing g cresc scen ent. t. – The waning ing crescen scent t moon n will ll cont ntinu inue to appear ar smaller ler and smaller ler with th each day. ■ Can you find the e waning ng cresc scen ent t moon n in the image age on the right ht?
Th The Mo e Moon on fr from om th the e Ea Earth th
Som omething thing to Thi o Think k Abou out! t! ■ How is the Waxing Crescent Moon different from the Waning Crescent Moon? ■ If you looked into the night sky during the New Moon, would you expect the stars to be more or less visible in the night sky?
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