• How Do The Moon Phases Change?

MOON PHASES

Claim: How do the Moon Phases change? Mrs. Challe said the Sun's shadow covers the Moon, so the Moon phases change. She is incorrect. First, it is not the Sun’s shadow, but the Sun’s rays that reflect off of the Moon. The Sun lights up different portions of the Moon, depending on where the Moon is in its rotation, in relation to the Sun and the Earth. What really happens is the Moon revolves around the Earth, the Sun reflects on the Moon making it visible and depending on where the Moon is in relation to the Sun and the Earth, different parts of the Moon are visible. The different portions that are visible are called the phases of the Moon. The Sun shining on the Moon reflects the Sun’s rays and as it rotates around the Earth it changes what part of the Moon
She forgot that the rotation of the Moon is counterclockwise around the Earth. The Moon phases are: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent, then the New Moon again. Mrs. Challe also said that there is a Full Moon when it is not at all covered by the Sun’s shadow. Again, the Sun’s shadow is not what is causing us to see a Full Moon. During a Full Moon, the Sun, the Earth and the Moon are in alignment. Because the Sun is reflecting onto the full surface of the Moon, we see all of it. During a New Moon the Sun the Moon and the Earth are in alignment. Because the Moon is closest to the Sun, only the back side of the Moon gets any light from the Sun. That is why the New Moon is not visible. A Solar Eclipse happens once a year when the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth are aligned, so that the Moon is blocking the Sun from reflecting on it. It makes a black circle with an orange ring around it. For a Lunar Eclipse, the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are aligned so that the Earth is blocking the Sun from reflecting on the Moon. It looks like a red Moon because it is passing through the Earth’s shadow. It happens once a year