Syamily PPhysical Science

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PHASES OF MOON

THE MOON• The Moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite.• The Moon is revolving around the earth and rotating on its own axis.• The Moon does not give off its own light , but reflects light from the sun.• The Moon revolves around the earth approxim- ately every 28 days. Its rotation is also approxi- mately 28 days. So the same side of the Moon is always facing the Earth.

• The Moon’s gravitational influence produces ocean tides and the slight lengthening of the day.

• The Moon revolves around the Earth approxi- mately every 28 days. Its rotation is also appro- ximately 28 days. So the same side of the Moon is always facing the Earth.

Phases of Moon The lunar phase or phase of the moon is the shape of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer on Earth. The lunar phases change cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the changing positions of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth.

The Moon passes through four major shapes during a cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days.  The phases always follow one another in the same order:

New moonFirst quarterThird quarter

Full moon

New Moon The Moon's dark side is facing the Earth. The Moon is not visible. The lighted side of the Moon faces away from the Earth.  This means that the Sun, Earth, and Moon are almost in a straight line, with the Moon in between the Sun and the Earth.  The Moon that we see looks very dark.

New Moon

Waxing Crescent Moon As the Moon moves around the Earth, we get to see more and more of the illuminated half, and we say the Moon is waxing. At first we get a sliver of it, which grows as days go by. This phase is called the crescent moon.

First Quarter Moon A week after the new moon, when

the Moon has completed about a quarter of its turn around the Earth, we can see half of the illuminated part; that is, a quarter of the Moon. This is the first quarter phase.

Waxing Gibbous The Moon appears to be more than one-half but not fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is increasing. This Moon can be seen after the First Quarter Moon, but before the Full Moon.  The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow larger and larger every day.  ("Waxing" means increasing, or growing larger.)

Waxing Gibbous

Full Moon The Moon's illuminated side is facing the Earth. The Moon appears to be completely illuminated by direct sunlight. The lighted side of the Moon faces the Earth.  This means that the Earth, Sun, and Moon are nearly in a straight line, with the Earth in the middle.  The Moon that we see is very bright from the sunlight reflecting off it.

Full Moon

Waning Gibbous Moon From now on, until it becomes new

again, the illuminated part of the Moon that we can see decreases, and we say it's waning. The first week after full, it is called waning gibbous. The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow smaller and smaller every day. ("Waning" means decreasing, or growing smaller.)

Last Quarter Moon One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing. Sometimes called Third Quarter.  The left half of the Moon appears lighted, and the right side of the Moon appears dark.  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.

Last Quarter Moon

Waning Crescent The Moon appears to be partly but less

than one-half illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is decreasing. 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.

Lunar Month

The lunar month is the 28 days it takes to go from one new moon to the next. During the lunar month, the moon goes through all its phases.

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