Phases of the Moon

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Phases of the Moon
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The Moon

• The moon is the Earths only natural satellite.
• It is the second brightest object in the sky
  after the sun.
• It is reflection of sunlight that allows us to
  see the moon so brightly (Without the suns light
  we would not see the moon at all).
• Only half of the moon can be lit at one time,
  resulting in ½ of the moon being in sunlight
  while the other ½ is in darkness.

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• Brain Pop The Moon
• http//www.brainpop.com/science/space/moon/preview
  .weml

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Orbit Around the Earth

• The moon orbits around the Earth once every 29.5
  days.
• As the Moon orbits around the Earth once per
  month, the angle between the Earth, the Moon and
  the Sun changes we see this as the cycle of the
  Moon's phases.
• The rotation of the moon around the Earth causes
  the moon to appear to change shape in the sky.

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Phases of the Moon

• There are 8 phases of the moon that repeat every
  rotation of the moon around the Earth.

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Why does the Moon Change Shape?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vFhokvJZFURg

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Moon Phase Terminology

• Waxing The part of the moon that is in sunlight
  is getting bigger (lit part is growing)
• Waning The part of the moon that is in sunlight
  is getting smaller (lit part is shrinking)
• Crescent Less than half of the moon is
  illuminated.
• Gibbous More than half the moon is illuminated.

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Lunar Phases

• New Moon (Phase 1) Beginning of the lunar
  cycle. No part of the moon is illuminated
  (cannot see moon).

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• Waxing Crescent (Phase 2) After the new moon a
  thin crescent shape that gradually gets larger is
  illuminated.

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• First Quarter (Phase 3) The moon is a quarter
  of the way through its orbit. It appears that
  half of the moon is illuminated.

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• Waxing Gibbous (Phase 4) More than half of the
  moon is illuminated.

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• Full Moon (Phase 5) Half of the moon is
  illuminated. Remember, we see it as a full moon,
  but only half of the moon is in sunlight!

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• Waning Gibbous (Phase 6) The illuminated part of
  the moon is getting smaller, but still over half
  is illuminated.

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• Third Quarter (Phase 7) The moon is 3 quarters
  through the rotation. Half of the moon is
  illuminated.

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• Waning Crescent (Phase 8) The illuminated part
  of the moon is getting smaller. The only visible
  part is a crescent shape.

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• Brain Pop Phases of the Moon
• http//www.brainpop.com/science/space/moonphases/p
  review.weml

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Making a Moon Calendar

• The most recent New Moon was on Wednesday May
  28th 2014.
• On the blank Calendar begin numbering your
  Calendar for June (start with Wednesday May 28th)
• From your pictures, cut out a new moon and paste
  it on the May 28th square.
• Continue to paste on the pictures of the phases
  of the moon in the correct order until you have
  successfully complete one rotation of the Earth.