Why Does The Moon Apear Differently Each Non-Illuminated Night?

WHY DOES THE MOON CHANGE INTO NON-CIRCULAR SHAPES AT NIGHT?

INTRODUCTION

The Moon’s appearance changes over time. Why is that you ask? Well, the Moon changes shape causing the lunar phases. Most people think that the shadows caused the Moon to change shape but it is scientifically proven that it is the reflection of the Sun that causes it. I am going to explain in more detail, the lunar months/lunar phases, so that you get a clear idea about why the moon looks different every non-illuminated night.

THE MOON’S ORBIT AROUND EARTH

When the Moon orbits us, we can only see the lighted part of it.This is caused by our wonderful blue Earth revolving around the Sun while the Moon tilts on its axis and circles Earth. The Moon rotates at roughly the same speed as it orbits Earth. As a result of this, the same side of the Moon always faces Earth.

PHASES OF THE MOON

There are eight phases of the Moon but most people believe that there are nine counting the other New Moon. Here is a list of all the Lunar Phases in order; new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent and the cycle goes all over again starting with the non-illuminated new moon.

LUNAR MONTH

A Lunar month is a little different than a normal month because every year it is two days behind. This is caused by the Moon orbiting Earth but when it is still not in line with the Earth and the Sun, it would take two days to catch up. A Lunar month is 29.5 days long although the Moon takes 27.3 days to slowly orbit Earth.

CONCLUSION

I hope this explanation has given you a clearer view of the Moon. I also hope that this writing explanation has fixed up any misunderstandings. If you are still not clear about the Moon, check out this website: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/facts.htm

Why Does The Moon Change Shape Every Night?

Hi Everyone!

This is my (Me and my classmate's) Digital Learning Object about the Lunar Phases.

Hope you enjoy!

My Abcya Word Cloud about The Perilous Mars!

Hi everyone! Hope you like the pretty font colours in this amazing word cloud! If you want to make your own, visit this awesome website: http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm

The Fireball in the dark sky!

Hi Blog World! This is my Information Report about Mars. Hope you enjoy it! (Don't mind the different font colours)

Have you ever wondered what that fire red ball in the sky is?

Introduction

Mars, the fourth Planet from the Sun. However, still bitter cold. This blazing/chilled ball is not a habitable (non living) place.

Appearance:

What does Mars look like/have? Although very like Earth, it doesn’t accommodate H2O. It contains volcanic basalt rock beneath the layer of dust. There are tall volcanoes, but the biggest, most know volcano is Olympus Mons. Amazingly, Mars has the largest canyon in the entire Solar System, Valles Marineris (Valley of the Mariners). Mars is one weird looking planet!

Mars’ Orbits

Mars is our closest neighbour although its orbit is completely different. It takes 687 days which is about two years! It is the 2nd Planet that takes the longest time to circle. Mars is 22,900,000km away from the Sun which is super far away! From Earth, it is 225,300,000 km away. So we aren’t really a close neighbour.

Mars’ Moons

Strangely, Mars has two lumpy potatoes(Moons)! Deimos, is the smaller and outer of the two natural satellites of the planet Mars with a mean radius of 6.2 km. He also has a friend, Phobos. Phobos is the larger and inner of the two natural satellites of Mars.

Conclusion

I hope this has encouraged you to make your own report about Mars! Here is a helpful link if you wish for more fun facts about Mars:

http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-mars/. Also use this link to learn about all of the planets: http://www.kidsastronomy.com/mars.htm.

My Information Report Success Criteria:	Self	Peer
My heading:
is an interesting title (I might have phrased the title as a question.)	✓	✓
My opening paragraph:
says what my report is about in a clear way	✓	✓
gives a general “classification” – and maybe a technical classification	✓	✓
outlines the main features of the subject	✓	✓
My main paragraphs:
have sub-headings where helpful	✓	✓
have clear topic sentences  (topic and main point)	✓	✓
are organised so that each paragraph is about a different aspect of the subject	✓	✓
give detailed information (factual descriptions)	✓	✓
include specific, technical vocabulary	✓	✓
are generally balanced (have a similar amount of detail about the different aspects I write about)	✓	✓
may have helpful: tables, pictures and/or diagrams to add information	✓	✓
My end paragraph:
draws the report together/sums up my main points	✓	✓
may give a personal opinion; ask the reader a question and/or tell the reader where further information may be found	✓	✓

Meeting The Ukrainian Football Team at the Airport!

Hi Everyone! Hope you enjoy this DLO I made about my trip!


 

Lunar Phrases!

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! I am happy to share with you this Lunar Phrases task I did. Check out the Bonus Facts at the very bottom!

Lunar Phases Cloze Activity

Use these words to complete the sentences.

One of the most obvious and Regular✓ things we can see about the Moon is the way it appears to change shape in the sky almost every night. (Actually you can often spot the Moon✓ in the day-time, it’s just not as easy to see.) We know the Moon is a giant sphere made of rock, roughly 384 thousand✓ kilometres away. So how can it change shape?

The Moon doesn't really change shape. Just like Earth✓, half of the Moon is always in the sunlight, half is in the shade✓. What we are seeing is more or less of the Moon’s ‘face’ directed towards the Sun. As the Moon orbits✓, or circles the Earth we get to see if from different angles. Sometimes we see the full circle of the Moon, other times a lo-sided rugby ball shape or a crescent. Every cycle it seems to disappear✓ altogether. To help us describe this effect, we use some old-fashioned words;

• ‘Waxing’ -  means getting bigger✓, or coming in.
• ‘Waning’ - means getting smaller, or going tout.
• ‘Gibbous’ - is like a lop-sided rugby ball shape.
• ‘Crescent’ - is the thin sliver shaper with pointy ends.

As shown in the diagram, the Moon orbits the Earth in an anticlockwise✓ direction. Earth orbit takes a little less than a month (the word ‘month’ is from the old English word ‘mōnath’ which means to measure✓ time with the moon). A new moon means it is facing away from us and it is fully in shade from our perspective✓ . A full moon shows the full reflection of the Sun.

First and last quarters allow you to see half of the Moon (confusingly, but it is 1⁄4 the way around). ‘Waxing gibbous’ means that it’s on its way to becoming✓ a full moon.

A ‘waning crescent’ moon tells you that a new moon is about to happen. If you can see the

right hand side of the Moon it is waxing – getting bigger. If you can see the left hand side,

it’ll be waning.

Lunar Phases - Comprehension: (you are allowed to re-read the text)

1. Roughly, how far away is the Moon? It is roughly around 300,000-400,000 km away from Earth.✓

2. Does the Moon shine with its own light? Yes / No Why, or why not:

The Moon does not shine with its own light because it just reflects the light from the sun.✓

3. Approximately how long does it take for the Moon to circle the Earth?

It takes approximately 30 days.✓

4. If you can’t see the Moon on a clear night, what could be happening?

I think what would be happening is that part of the moon is in the shade and the rest is in the sunlight.✓

5. The Moon changes shape because it’s actually an inflatable beach ball : True / False

It is false because the Moon is a big circle rock.✓

6. Create a definition for the word ‘gibbous’

When the Moon is a different shape and not quite a circle. So the Moon is gibbous.✓

7. Grammar: Waxing and waning are words we sometimes use to talk about the tides on  Earth as well. What would be happening if the tide was ‘waning’?

What would be happening is that the tide would be getting smaller or it is going tout.✓

8. Why is that when you can see half of the Moon we call it a quarter?

I think when the Moon is half, it is called a quarter because the Moon is only ¼ around and you can’t see the other side of its face.✓

9. What would you expect to be brighter a gibbous or a crescent moon?

I think that a gibbous is brighter than a crescent moon because it is bigger and the crescent moon is thin.✓

10.Higher level thinking: Why don’t we use the lunar phases to measure time on our

calendar any longer? I think we don’t use lunar phases anymore is because we have more greater technology which is more modern.✓

___________________________________________________________________________

Extra for experts: The Dreamworks (movie company) logo features the Moon with a

boy fishing off of it. From what you’ve learned; figure out where in the

lunar phase it would be: I think it would be gibbous because it is most likely close to being in a shape as a rugby ball.

Bonus facts: We see the same side of the Moon all the time (an effect called ‘tidally locked’). The part we don’t see is called ‘the dark side of the Moon’, even though it gets the same sunlight as the rest of the satellite. The first time humans saw the other side was in 1959 when the Russian probe Luna took some grainy photographs.