I. The Moon and Sun cause affects that we can see on Earth. These effects are caused by their gravity and their position in relation to each other. The moon’s phases as observed from earth, eclipses, seasons, and tides are all caused by interactions between the Earth, Moon, and the Sun.

A. Moon Phases- The phases of the moon are caused by the moon’s position in relation to the Sun and the Earth. We see different amounts of the lit side of the moon because the moon is moving around the earth in an orbit. When an object goes around another, we call this revolution.

The moon takes 28 days to revolve around the earth once, which means it takes 28 days for us to see all of the phases of the moon. It also takes the moon 28 days to rotate once, so we always see the same side of the moon. (The dark side of the moon is not the same as the far side!)

1.New Moon2.Waxing Crescent 3.First quarter4.Waxing gibbous5.Full moon6.Waning gibbous7.Last quarter or third

quarter8.Waning crescent

1. 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 1