A look at our nearest neighbor in Space!

The Moon

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What is the Moon?• A natural satellite

(something that orbits a planet)

• One of more than 96 moons in our Solar System–For example, Jupiter has

63 moons!• Planet Earth only has one

moon, so we call it THE Moon.

The Moon’s Surface

• No atmosphere• No liquid water• Extreme

temperatures– Daytime = 130C

(265°F)– Nighttime = -190C

(-310 F)• 1/6 Earth’s gravity

The moon revolves around the Earth.The Earth revolves around the Sun.

How Can We See the Moon?• Sunlight shines on the

moon!–Just like Earth, the moon

has a “day” and “night”–The sun shines on only half

of the moon at one time.

It’s Just a Phase• Moonlight is

reflected sunlight• Half the moon’s

surface is always reflecting light

• From Earth we see different amounts of the Moon’s lit surface

• The amount seen is called a “phase”

It takes 29 days (about 1 month) tocomplete the phases of the moon one time.

earth

moon orbit`searth

last (third)quarter

gibbous moon

full moon

gibbous moon

first quarter

crescent

new moon

crescent

waning Moon

waxing Moon

SUN

Waxing and Waning• As the moon revolves around the

sun, we see different amounts of the “lit up side”

• When we see MORE of the lit side, it’s WAXING

• When we see LESS of the lit side, it’s WANING

Right Light, Waxing• WAXING: When we start to see

MORE of the lit side of the moon• The moon starts to look “bigger”

Left Lit, Waning• WANING: When we start to see

LESS of the lit side of the moonWhen the moon starts to look“smaller”

Why does the moon have phases?

• The revolution of the Moon around the Earth causes the Moon to appear to have phases.

NSF North Mississippi GK-8

8 Phases of the Moon• New Moon

• Waxing Crescent

• First Quarter

• Waxing Gibbous

• Full Moon

• Waning Gibbous

• Third Quarter

• Waning Crescent

New Moon• The moon is not

visible from Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth.

• The dark side is facing us.

• This phase lasts one night.

Waxing Crescent• Waxing means that the

bright side is increasing. The right side is the bright side.

• Less than one half of the moon is illuminated.

• This phase includes any visible moon from a small sliver to almost half.

First Quarter • The entire right side of the moon is illuminated.

• The moon looks like a half circle.

• The illuminated side is increasing.

• This phase only lasts one night.

Waxing Gibbous• Gibbous means that

more than one half is visible, but it is not quite full.

• This phase includes the night after the first quarter to the night before the full moon.

Full Moon • The moon is full and bright. It looks like a large circle.

• The illuminated side is facing us.

• Only happens once every 29 nights.

Waning Gibbous • The moon appears more than half but not quite full.

• Waning means that the illuminated side is decreasing.

• The left side is the bright side.

NSF North Mississippi GK-8

Last Quarter or Third Quarter• Left Half of the

moon is illuminated.

• The illuminated side is decreasing.

• This phase also only lasts for one night.

Waning Crescent

• Less than one half of the moon is illuminated.

• The moon will continue to become smaller and smaller.

New Moon• The moon is not

visible from Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth.

• The dark side is facing us.

• This phase lasts one night.

Waxing Crescent• Waxing means that the

bright side is increasing. The right side is the bright side.

NSF North Mississippi GK-8

FULL

QUARTER

CRESCENT

GIBBOUS

FOUR MAIN SHAPES

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Full Moon

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waning Gibbous

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waning

Third Quarter

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waxing

First Quarter

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waning Crescent

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Full Moon

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

New Moon

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waning Gibbous

Name this phase!

Name this phase!

Waning Crescent

Tonight’s Moon…?

Homework: Tonight, go outside and find the moon.

What phase is it in?

Far Side of the Moon• First seen by Luna 3

Russian space probe in 1959

• Surface features different from near side– More craters– Very few maria– Thicker crust