Earth and the Moon (Phases of the Moon)

 

The moon – Earth’s natural satellite

Phases of the Moon

The Moon looks different over time when we see it from Earth. Sometimes, the Moon is hard to see in the sky and at other times it can look like a thin curve, a full circle – or something in between.

A Moon phase is the shape of the part of the Moon that we can see, and this changes slowly over a lunar month.

 

What is a lunar month?

A new Moon begins a lunar month, which lasts about 29.5 days. The new Moon is hard to see in the sky because the Sun’s light hits the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth.

As the Moon orbits around Earth, the lit part of the Moon’s surface starts to face towards Earth, and we see a thin crescent Moon.
The Moon has these phases during a lunar month:

 

The eight phases of the moon

 

 

Summary:

 

• Orbiting many of the planets are natural satellites, called moons.
• Our Earth has one moon.
• It moves in an orbit round the Earth.
• It is held in this orbit by the pull of Earth's Gravity.
• It goes around the Earth in an anti-clockwise direction.
• The Earth also spins in an anti-clockwise direction at the same time from west to east.
• It takes one lunar month (28 days) to complete one orbit of the Earth.
• It has no light of its own.
• As it goes around the Earth, we see the moon surface reflecting the Sun's light.
• It looks different at different times of the month, changes its shape.
• It has phases.  The phases are about 4 days apart.