Phases of the Moon

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Phases of the Moon
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Rotation
The moon also rotates.
What is the daily movement of the Earth called?

The moon rotates at the same rate it revolves.
If we always see the same side, why does the moon
look different during the month?
Because of this, we never see the far side of the
moon.
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During a new moon the side of the moon facing the
Earth is not reflecting any sunlight. It appears
as if there is no moon at all.
The new moon occurs when the moon is between the
Earth and the sun.
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The new moon is the beginning of the cycle of
lunar phases.
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As the moon continues to travel along its orbit,
we are able to see only a small portion of the
moon. This is called a crescent moon.
Waxing means growing. Since the moon appears to
be growing this phase is called waxing crescent.
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As the moon continues to revolve around the
Earth, we are able to view more of the lighted
side of the moon.
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The next lunar phase is the first quarter moon.
Why is it called a quarter moon when it appears
that we are seeing half the moon?
Remember we are not seeing the dark side of the
moon.
In essence we are only seeing half of the lighted
half of the moon.
Half of a half is a quarter! 1/2 X 1/2
1/4
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The word gibbous means swollen on one side.
As the moon begins to grow into a full circle
it is called a waxing gibbous.
Do you remember what the word waxing meant?
Waxing means growing!
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The full moon is the next lunar phase.
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When a full moon occurs the Earth is between the
sun and the moon.
During a full moon we see a complete circle in
the sky, even though only half of the sphere is
reflecting sunlight.
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Swollen on one side.
What does gibbous mean?
The next phase is called waning gibbous.
Waning means shrinking.
During the waning gibbous phase the moon seems to
be disappearing!
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The last quarter is the next lunar phase.
Why is it called a quarter?
Remember we are seeing half of a half or one
quarter of the whole moon!
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the first quarter moon?
How is the last quarter moon different from ...
They are mirror images of each other.
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The last phase is the waning crescent.
What does waning mean?
Waning means shrinking.
You are seeing a smaller portion of the moon.
What do you think the next phase is?
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The new moon!
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The complete lunar cycle takes about 29 days.
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When two full moons occur in the same month, the
second full moon is called a blue moon.
The moon is not really blue. Two full moons in
one month rarely appear.
What is a blue moon?
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