The Moon And It’s Different Phases

Hi! My name is Goldie, and I am going to be talking to you about the moon and it’s different phases! Have you ever wondered why the moon looks different on different days of the month? Well, you are about to learn! First, here is the moon himself!

The moon looks different in this picture! This is because it is starting to go through it’s different phases! In the beginning of a month, you may notice that you can not see the moon at all! This is called a new moon. The moon is right in front of the sun, and we are not able to see anything here on earth! This is what the position of the moon looks like with the earth and sun! Under the moon is what we see!

The moon goes through this cycle every month. After a new moon, the moon becomes a waxing crescent. Waxing means that the moon is gradually getting bigger, and that it is making it’s way to a full moon. Here is the position of the moon and how we see it on earth!

The next phase in the cycle of the moon is called 1st quarter. You may call it a half moon, because this is where half of the moon is lit up! You aren’t wrong, but 1st quarter is the scientific name. Here is the position of the moon, and how we see a 1st quarter moon here on Earth!

The next phase of the moon is called waxing gibbous (Remember that waxing means getting bigger)! This is when the moon is almost at a full moon, and there is only a sliver of dark crescent left. Here is the position of the moon and how we see it on earth!

The next phase is definitely a favorite amongst others, a full moon! This is when the moon shines brightly in the sky, and the whole surface is lit. It looks so pretty up in the sky! The moon revolves around the earth, so we see the side of the moon that is always lit! Here is how the moon looks in the sky! Right behind the earth! Let’s also take a look at how we see the moon.

The phase that comes after a full moon is called a waning gibbous. It’s just like a waxing gibbous, except the moon is getting smaller instead of bigger! The moon is starting to make its final stretch of it’s revolution, and is almost back to where it first started! Here is the moons position now and what it looks like!

The next phase is called 3rd quarter! As you may have noticed, the moon is starting to get darker on the right side, leaving the left side light up. It’s the opposite of when the moon was working towards a full moon! Let’s take a closer look!

We are now on the last phase before the next new moon! This phase is called a waning crescent (remember that waning means getting smaller)! Most of the moon is not visible anymore, except for a little sliver of light that is on the left. Let’s look at the last phase before another new moon comes to be!

The moon has now completed it’s cycle around Earth! This takes about 28 days, but why does a full cycle take 30 days? At this point in time, it takes the moon and Earth two extra days to get lined back up (since the Earth also spins and revolves around the sun). We were also able to learn about all of the different phases, and now we are back to a new moon. Here is what a full cycle of the moon looks like in a picture!

We have now finished learning about the moon, so here is a little recap! The moon goes through this cycle once every month. It has a total of eight different phases, and also takes any extra two days at the end of the month to get back lined up with the Earth, since it also revolves! Now, every time that you look up and see the moon in the sky, you can think about all of the phases the moon goes through and name them!