The Moon
It's Just a Phase It's
Going Through...
Moon
Our planet's large natural
satellite, the Moon, is the
easiest astronomical object
to observe.
The only "scientific
instrument" you'll need at
first is a pair of eyes.
Picture from NASA
The Moon's Orbit
Rotation
– Moon is spinning on its
axis
Revolution
– The moon orbits around
the Earth
– It takes the moon
approximately one
month to go around the
Earth.
Why do we never see the
DARK SIDE?
Synchronous Rotation is the
reason we never see the dark
side of the moon.
Over the millennia, the Moon
has become "locked" into a
special kind of motion around
the Earth.
It rotates on its axis at the
same pace as it revolves
around the Earth
As a result, the Moon keeps
the same face toward us
throughout its orbit.
Phases
The lighted side of the
moon always faces
the sun.
New Moon
What we see
New moon occurs when
the moon is between
the sun & the Earth.
The dark side of the
moon is facing the What is happening from above.
Earth. E
Sunlight
Full Moon
What we see
The full moon occurs
when the Moon & the
Sun are on opposite
sides of the Earth.
The lighted side of What is happening from above.
the moon is facing
Earth.
E
Sunlight
Full Moon
The full moon is given different names, depending on when it
appears. For example, the "Harvest moon" is the full moon that
appears nearest to the Autumnal Equinox, occurring in late
September or early October. Some other full moon names (by
month) include
January Moon After Yule, Wolf Moon, or Old Moon
February Snow Moon or Hunger Moon
March Sap Moon, Crow Moon, or Lenten Moon
April Grass Moon or Egg Moon
May Milk Moon or Planting Moon
June Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
July Thunder Moon or Hay Moon
August Grain Moon or Green Corn Moon
September Fruit Moon or Harvest Moon
October Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon
November Hunter's Moon or Frosty Moon,
December Moon Before Yule or Long Night Moon.
Blue Moon
When there is more than
one full moon in a month,
the second moon is called a
blue moon.
A blue moon happens every
two years on average.
The phrase, “Once in a blue
moon” means very rarely or
very seldom or almost
never.
First Quarter What we see
Moon
The First quarter
moon occurs when the
moon is halfway
between new and full.
As seen from the
Earth, half the moon’s
What is happening from above.
disk is illuminated.
E
Sunlight
Third Quarter What we see
Moon
The Third or last
quarter moon occurs
halfway between the
full moon & the new
moon.
As seen from the
Earth, half the moon’s
disk is illuminated. What is happening from above.
E
Sunlight
Waxing
When the moon
is between new
& full, the visible E
part of the moon
is increasing.
This is called
waxing
Sunlight
Waning
When the moon
is between full &
new, the visible E
part of the moon
is decreasing.
This is called
waning.
Sunlight
Crescent Moon Full Moon
When the moon
is between New
& 1st Quarter it is E
called a waxing
crescent. 3rd Quarter 1st Quarter
Waning
When the moon
is between 3rd & Crescent Waxing
New it is called a New Moon Crescent
waning crescent.
Sunlight
Gibbous Moon Full Moon
Waning
Waning
When the moon Gibbous
is between 1st Gibbous
Quarter & Full it E
is called a
waxing gibbous. 3rd Quarter 1st Quarter
When the moon
is between Full & Waning
Waxing
3rd it is called a Crescent New Moon Crescent
waning gibbous.
Sunlight
Moon Movie