The Moon
It's Just a Phase It's
Going Through...
http://www.brainpop.com/scienc
e/space/moon/
Moon
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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
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Rotation
– Moon is spinning on its
axis
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Revolution
– The moon orbits around
the Earth
– It takes the moon
approximately one
month to go around the
Earth.
Phases
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The lighted side of the
moon always faces
the sun.
http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/moonphases
/
New Moon
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What we see
New moon occurs when
the moon is between
the sun & the Earth.
The dark side of the
What is happening from above
moon is facing the
Earth.
E
Sunlight
Full Moon
What we see
The full moon occurs
when the Moon & the
Sun are on opposite
sides of the Earth.
What is happening from above.
 The lighted side of
the moon is facing
Earth.
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Sunlight
Full Moon
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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.
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First Quarter
Moon
What we see
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.
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Sunlight
Third Quarter
Moon
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What we see
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, and the
visible part of the
moon is
increasing.
 This is called
waxing.
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E
Sunlight
Waning
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When the moon
is between full &
new, and the
visible part of the
moon is
decreasing.
 This is called
waning.
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Sunlight
Crescent Moon
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When the moon
is between New
& 1st Quarter, it
is called a
waxing crescent.
 When the moon
is between 3rd
Quarter & New, it
is called a waning
crescent.
Full Moon
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3rd Quarter
1st Quarter
Waning
New Moon
Crescent
Sunlight
Waxing
Crescent
Gibbous Moon
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When the moon
is between 1st
Quarter & Full it
is called a
waxing gibbous.
Waning
Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning
Gibbous
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3rd Quarter
1st Quarter
 When the moon
is between Full &
3rd it is called a
waning gibbous.
Waning
Crescent
New Moon
Sunlight
Waxing
Crescent
Why do we never see the
DARK SIDE?
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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.
Moon Movie