Phases of the Moon

Learn about the Moon's Phases! Understand why it looks different each night with this engaging science worksheet.

The Moon's Phases Why does the Moon look different throughout the month?The moon has "phases." That means it looks a little different to us each night during its one-month orbit of our planet. We describe how the Moon looks with terms such as "full moon," "first quarter," and "new moon" (which we can't really see because of the side that is lit faces away from us.)The moon has no light of its own. Moonlight is sunlight bouncing off the moon's surface. as the moon orbits Earth, the Sun lights up whatever side of the moon is facing it. To the Sun, it's always a full moon! 1. What does the Earth revolve around? the Sun the Moon 2. What does the Moon revolve around? Pluto the Earth 3. What blocks the sun during a solar eclipse? the Earth the Moon 4. Does the moon give off its own light? Yes No 5. If we were on the sun what moon phase would we constantly see? a full moon a new moon Was there a full moon last night? Some people believe that a full moon affects people's behavior. Whether that is true or not, the moon does go through phases. What causes the moon to appear differently throughout the month? You know that the moon does not give off its own light. When we see the moon shining at night, we are actually seeing a reflection of the sun's light. The part of the moon that we see shining (lunar phase) depends on the positions of the sun, moon, and the Earth. When the moon is between the Earth and the sun, we can't see it. The sunlit side of the moon is facing away from us. The dark side is facing toward us. This phase is called the new moon. As the moon moves along its orbit, the amount of reflected light we see increases. This is called waxing. At first, there is a waxing crescent. The moon looks like a fingernail in the sky. We only see a slice of it. When it looks like half the moon is lit up, it is called the first quarter. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? The quarter moon doesn't refer to the shape of the moon. It is a point of time in the lunar month. There are four main phases to the lunar cycle. There are four parts, so there are four quarters. For each of these four phases, the moon has orbited one quarter of the way around the Earth. This is why it is called a quarter moon when it really looks like a half moon. As the orbit continues, we begin to see more than half of the moon lit up. This is called a waxing gibbous moon. As the lunar month goes on, the moon continues on its path. It comes to a position where the Earth is between it and the sun. This whole side of the moon that is facing us is lit up. We call it a full moon. Once the full moon is reached, we start to see less and less of the sunlit side. It looks like tiny slices are being taken off. This is called waning. When we still see more than half the moon shining, it is called a waning gibbous moon. Soon, the moon reaches its third quarter phase. Again, it looks like only half the moon is lit up. We are seeing half the sunlit side. As we begin to see less and less of the sunlit portion, the moon is becoming a waning crescent. Soon it will "disappear" once again and become a new moon. There are four lunar phases: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter. It takes the moon about 29.5 days to complete this cycle. This is called a lunar month. Ancient civilizations set their calendars by the phases of the moon. Many calendars and even some clocks still keep track of the moon's phases today. 6. As the amount of sunlight we see reflected increases it is called: waxing crescent waning 7. As the amount of sunlight we see reflected decreases it is called: waxing crescent waning 8. About how long does it take for the moon to go through all its phases or revolution around the Earth? a year a day a month 9. Name a phase of the moon. To mark a word click its first letter then click its last. FULLMOON CRESCENT ECLIPSE NEWMOON WANING WAXING LUNAR EARTH PHASE SUN