Moon Notes
1. Define Rotation: The Spinning of Earth
on its axis. Earth rotates once every 24
hours.
2. Define Revolution: The movement of
the Earth around the Sun. It takes the
Earth 1 year to complete a revolution.
3. What is an orbit?
• Orbit: The regular curved path the earth
follows as it revolves around the sun.
(Also known as a trajectory.)
• Helpful Hint: Earth’s orbit is an ellipse, or
a slightly elongated circle.
• Picture
4. Why does the moon shine?
• The moon reflects the light of the Sun.
• Reflection: Light from the sun bounces off
the moon’s surface.
• Helpful Hint: A mirror reflects an image
because light bounces off of it surface.
• Picture:
5. Half of the Moon is always lit up by
the sun. As the Moon orbits the Earth,
we see different parts of the lighted
area.
http://www.nasm.si.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/phasepage2.html
6. The revolution of the Moon around
the Earth makes the Moon look as if it
is changing shape in the sky. But the
moon NEVER changes its shape.
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.htm
7. This is caused
by the different
angles from
which we see the
lighted part of
the Moon's
surface. These
are called
"phases" of the
Moon.
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.htm
8. Phases of the Moon
• Phases of the Moon are different angles
from which we see the lighted part of the
Moon's surface.
• Helpful Hint: There are 8 different phases.
• Picture:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/
lunar/why_phases.gif
9. The Moon passes through eight phases during a
cycle that repeats itself approximately every 29
days. The phases always follow one another in the
same order:
New moon
Waxing Crescent
First quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Last Quarter
Waning Crescent
10. New Moon
• The lighted side of the Moon faces away
from the Earth. The moon is almost
directly positioned between the sun and
Earth.
• It is the start of the Moon Cycle.
• Looks very dark, so we often see nothing
in the sky.
New Moon
11. Waxing Crescent Moon
• This Moon can be seen after the New
Moon, but before the First Quarter Moon.
• A bit of the sunlit side of the moon shows.
• The crescent will grow larger and larger
every day, until the Moon looks like the First
Quarter Moon.
• ("Waxing" means increasing, or growing
larger.) - Vocab. Sheet
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
Waxing Crescent Moon
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
12. First Quarter Moon
• The moon is a quarter of its way around
earth. It is in its first quarter.
• The right half of the Moon appears
lighted and the left side of the Moon
appears dark.
• During the time between the New Moon
and the First Quarter Moon, the part of the
Moon that appears lighted gets larger and
larger every day, and will continue to grow
until the Full Moon.
First Quarter Moon
13. Waxing Gibbous Moon
• The moon is waxing, which means
increasing , or growing larger.
• The Moon can be seen after the First
Quarter Moon, but before the Full Moon.
• Gibbous means: Greater than half, but
not full.
• The amount of the Moon that we can see
will grow larger and larger every
day. ("Waxing" means increasing, or
growing larger.)
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
Waxing Gibbous Moon
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
14. Full Moon
• Two weeks have passed since the new
moon. The entire face of the moon we
see shines.
• The lighted side of the Moon faces the
Earth.
• The Moon that we see is very bright from
the sunlight reflecting off of it.
• This means that the Earth, Sun, and Moon
are nearly in a straight line, with the Earth
in the middle.
Full Moon
15. Waning Gibbous Moon
• This Moon can be seen after the Full
Moon, but before the Last Quarter Moon.
• Gibbous means more than half, but not
full.
• The amount of the Moon that we can see
will grow smaller and smaller every day.
("Waning" means decreasing, or growing
smaller.)
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
Waning Gibbous Moon
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
16. Last Quarter Moon
• Sometimes called Third Quarter.
• The left half of the Moon appears lighted, and
the right side of the Moon appears dark.
• The moon is three-quarters of its way around
the Earth.
• It is in its last quarter phase.
• During the time between the Full Moon and the
Last Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that
appears lighted gets smaller and smaller every
day. It will continue to shrink until the New
Moon, when the cycle starts all over again.
Last (Third) Quarter Moon
17. Waning Crescent Moon
• A bit of the waning sunlit side of the moon
shows.
• ("Waning" means decreasing, or growing
smaller.)
• This Moon can be seen after the Last
Quarter Moon and before the New
Moon. The crescent will grow smaller
and smaller every day, until the Moon
looks like the New Moon.
Waning Crescent Moon
http://btc.montana.edu/ceres/html/birthdayphases.html
http://www.opencourse.info/astronomy/introduction/04.motion_moon/moon_phases.gif
18. The moon takes approximately 27 days to
orbit Earth.
Waxing & Waning
http://www.nasm.si.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/phasepage4.html
16. Tips to Remember Waxing and
Waning
• Flatten your right hand, with your fingers together and your thumb sticking out.
• Hold your hand out at arm’s length in front of you. Tilt your thumb towards the
ground.
• See how the line along your thumb and first finger makes a curve, roughly like a
backwards letter “‘C’”? It actually looks sort of like this: ) This is the shape of the
Waxing Moon. If the Moon’s curve fits along this right-hand curve, it is a Waxing
Moon.
• Commit it to memory. One way to remember this is to think of drawing in wax. Most
people are right-handed, and if they were to draw in wax, they’d use their right hand.
So if the Moon fits in your right-hand curve, it is waxing. Say: “Wax on”
• Do the same with the left hand. This makes a shape like this: (This is the shape of
the Waning Moon. If the moon fits in this curve, you know it is getting smaller every
day, going toward the new moon / dark moon. Say: “Wane Off”
http://www.nasm.si.edu/apollo30th/moontheater/phasepage4.html
http://www.calvin.edu/~lmolnar/moon/images/phases.gif
Moon Movie
http://www.learn360.com/ShowVide
o.aspx?lid=6818736&SearchText=m
oon+phases&ID=139913
MOON QUIZ!!
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChi
ld/solar_system_level2/moonlight.html