The Moon

Phases of the MoonTides

Characteristics of the Moon• Spherical; made of rock

• Has no atmosphere, no water, and no living things

• Drastic temperature changes

• Earth’s only natural satellite

Moon & Its Effects

• One-fourth of the Earth’s diameter; 1/80th of Earth’s mass (approximately 1.23%)

• Revolves around the earth every 29 1/2 days

• The gravity of the moon controls the tides

Positions of the Moon, Earth & Sun Cause…

• Phases of the moon

• Eclipses

• Tides

8 Phases of The Moon

• New moon• Waxing Crescent

• First Quarter

• Waxing Gibbous

• Full moon

• Waning Gibbous

• Third Quarter

• Waning Crescent

What Causes the Phases of the Moon?• The moons does not glow, it

reflects light from the sun. This is why the moon appears to shine bright.

• The part of the moon facing the sun is always lit up. The part facing away from the sun is always dark.

• The different phases depend on how much of the sunlit side of the moon faces Earth.

Moon Phases

NEW MOON WAXING CRESCENT

1st QUARTER WAXING GIBBOUS

FULL MOON WANING GIBBOUS

3rd QUARTER WANING CRESCENT

• The moon phases begin with a “New Moon” which is completely dark & reflects no light

Moon Phases

NEW MOON WAXING CRESCENT

1st QUARTER WAXING GIBBOUS

FULL MOON WANING GIBBOUS

3rd QUARTER WANING CRESCENT

• The term “Waxing” means the moonlight is “increasing” so the light is to the right side of the moon.

Moon Phases• The term “Waning” means the

moonlight is “decreasing” so the light is to the left side of the moon.

NEW MOON WAXING CRESCENT

1st QUARTER WAXING GIBBOUS

FULL MOON WANING GIBBOUS

3rd QUARTER WANING CRESCENT

New Moon

•The moon is not visible from Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth.

•The dark side is facing us.

•This phase lasts one night.

Waxing Crescent

•Waxing means that the bright side is increasing. The right side is the bright side.

•Less than one half of the moon is lit up.

•This phase includes any visible moon from a small sliver to almost half.

First Quarter or Half Moon

•The entire right side of the moon is lit up.

•The moon looks like a half circle.

•The lit up side is increasing.

•This phase only lasts one night.

Waxing Gibbous

•Gibbous means that more than one half is visible, but it is not quite full.

•This phase includes the night after the first quarter to the night before the full moon.

Full Moon

•The moon is full and bright. It looks like a large circle.

•The lit up side is facing us.

•Only happens one night per lunation (moon phase cycle).

Waning Gibbous

•The moon appears more than half but not quite full.

•Waning means that the lit up side is decreasing.

•The left side is the bright side.

3rd Quarter or Last Quarter/ Half

Moon•Left Half of the moon is lit.

•The lit side is decreasing.

•This phase also only lasts for one night.

Waning Crescent

•Less than one half of the moon is lit up.

•The moon will continue to become smaller and smaller.

What are the phases of the moon?The phases of the moon depend on how much of

the sunlit side of the moon faces Earth

New Moon

WaningCrescent

WaxingCrescent

1st Quarter

WaxingGibbous

WaningGibbous

3rd Quarter

FullMoon

What does waxing mean?

What does waning mean? MOVIE

How are tides formed?Tides occur mainly because of differences in howmuch the moon pulls on different parts of the Earth

The pull of gravity from the moon and sun causesthe rise and fall of water on Earth

- Solar Tides- Lunar Tides MOVIE

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• What are three characteristics of the moon?

• What are the phases of the moon?

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• What causes the phases of the moon?

• List 3 other facts about the moon, in complete sentences.