Moon Phases & Eclipses Notes Melka 2014-2015
The Moon The Moon is Earth s one natural satellite. Due to its smaller size and slower speed of rotation, the Moon s gravity is 1/6 of the Earth s gravitational pull.
Revolution of the Moon The Moon revolves around the Earth The Earth revolves around the Sun The Moon passes through phases during a cycle that repeats itself every 27.3 days. As this occurs, some of the sun s light is blocked by the moon s shadow or by the Earth s shadow. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Rotation of the Moon The moon rotates on its axis approximately every 27.3 days The moon rotates on its axis at about the same rate that it revolves around the Earth This is why we only see 1 side of the moon http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml http://hrw.com
Great graphic of why we only see one side of the moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozib_leg75q
The Light of the Moon The Moon does not generate any light itself; it just reflects the light of the Sun. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Moon Phases As the Moon orbits the Earth, the amount of lit surface that is visible from Earth changes. This causes the shape of the visible surface to change and give us the phases of the moon. What we see in the Northern Hemisphere Sunlit side grows from right to left. Sunlit side grows from left to right. What is seen in the Southern Hemisphere
What we see in the Northern Hemisphere Countries in the different hemispheres see the Moon from a completely different it sets. vantage point from each other. What is seen in the Southern Hemisphere In the northern hemisphere the last quarter looks like a C, while in the southern hemisphere looks like a D. What is the Moon like at the equator? In the northern hemisphere the first quarter looks like a growing D, while in the southern hemisphere it looks like a C. In places close to the equator: the first quarter will have the shape of the letter n (inverted U) when it rises, and the shape of letter U when the last quarter would seem like the shape of letter U when it rises and the shape of the letter n (inverted U) when it sets.
New Moon The New Moon lies between the Earth and the Sun because the sunlit side of the Moon is away from the Earth. The New Moon is invisible to us. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Waxing Crescent As the Moon moves along its orbit, it appears as a crescent on the right side. As the visible part of the moon grows, it is said to be waxing. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
First Quarter The Moon has now completed a quarter of its orbit and appears to us as a half circle. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Waxing Gibbous When more than half of the sunlit side of the Moon is visible, the Moon is gibbous. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Full Moon The Moon reaches the second quarter of its orbit. The entire daylight side is visible and appears to us as a circle. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Waning Gibbous As the sunlit side of the Moon turns away from us, the Moon begins to wane. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
3 rd /Last Quarter The Moon reaches the third quarter of its orbit and appears as a backwards D. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Waning Crescent The visible portion of the Moon dwindles to a crescent. The fraction of the Moon s disk that is illuminated is decreasing. http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/astronomical.shtml
Lunar Cycle
Eclipses Eclipse occurs when one object in space casts a shadow on another object Lunar and solar eclipses occur when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned Lunar Eclipse = the Earth casts a shadow on the moon Solar Eclipse = the moon casts a shadow on Earth
Lunar Eclipse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dk--lpai04
Solar Eclipse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffbyvq7j8mi
Total Lunar Eclipse occurs when the full Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth
Solar Eclipse occurs when the new Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth Total Eclipse Here Partial Eclipse Here
NASA Eclipse Site http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/oh/oh2015.html Check out the calendar for the 2015 lunar & solar eclipses. NASA s main eclipse site: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
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