The Phases of the Moon

1. The Phases of the Moon

2. What’s the Moon like? The moon is rocky and pockmarked with craters formed by asteroid impacts years ago. Because there is no weather the craters have eroded. The moon also has no atmosphere, so a layer of dust or footprints can sit undisturbed for centuries.

3. How was the Moon made? • For 25 years scientists have pondered a theory that the moon was created when an object the size of Mars crashed into Earth less than 100 million years after the sun was born some 4.6 billion years ago.

4. What’s a Moon Phase? • From any location on Earth, the Moon appears to be a circle which at any given time, is lighted by some direct sunlight. Like Earth, the moon is a sphere which is always lighted by the sun. The Moon has a cycle as it goes around the earth.

5. What are the phases of the moon? The reason why moon phases occur is because the moon is revolving(circling) the earth and the sun is there so every time the moon moves the sun is reflecting light on the side facing it causing different shapes which are moon phases that are either waning or waxing which means shrinking or growing.

6. The different moon phases • New Moon • Full Moon • 1st qtr. • Last qtr. • Waning crescent • Waxing crescent • Waxing gibbous • Waning gibbous

7. Deffinitions • Crescent Moon- When we can only see a sliver of the moon. • Full Moon- When the moon’s fully lighted because earth is between the sun and the moon • Gibbous Moon- When we can see 3 quarters of the moon. • Quarter Moon- (Also 1/2 moon) when we can see 1/2 of the moon or 1 quarter • New Moon- When you can’t see anything because The moon is between Sun and Earth.

8. The End