Earth-Sun-Moon System

Earth-Sun-Moon System

Ch 8 Lesson 2

What is the Moon Like?

• The greatest information about the moon came from the Apollo missions

• These included 6 Moon landings between the years 1969 and 1972.

• We could only imagine what the moon actually looked like before using the naked eye.

• We were later able to observe using the telescope.

• We now know the moon has no magentic field.

The landscape

• Craters have formed on the room from impacts from space objects that have created bowl-shaped depressions on the moon's surface.

• There are more craters on the moon that on Earth

• Maria are large, dark, flat surfaces on the the Moon formed from possible asteroid collisions and filled with lava. The cooled lava gave Maria its dark smooth appearance.

• Highlands- near the poles, higher in elevation than maria, more craters than maria, older landforms

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Landscape continued:

• Mountains: found around the edges of Maria

• Mountain ranges on the moon are named after those on Earth

• Valleys: looks like a cigar shaped depression; most famous Alpine Valley; some of the very deep valleys may contain ice

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Multiple Choice

What landscape on the moon looks like a cigar shaped depression?

• mountain

• valley

• crater

• maria

Multiple Choice

What lunar landscape appears at the lunar poles?

• mountains

• valleys

• craters

• highlands

Multiple Choice

What is the name of the lunar missions?

• blackjack

• apollo

• endeavor

• challenger

Multiple Choice

How many successful lunar landings occured?

• 2

• 12

• 6

• 5

Multiple Choice

The moon has a magnetic field. True or False

• True

• False

The Alpine Valley on the Moon! Looks like a cigar!!!

Why are there phases of the Moon?

• The moon revolves around the Earth

• The Earth revolves around the Sun

Phases of the Moon

• The moon reflects the light of the Sun; It has NO power

• New Moon-the moon is between the Sun and Earth; the lighted side faces away from Earth so we cannot see it.

• Waxing phases- the lighted side becomes more visible

• Waxing crescent moon- you see less than half of the moon lighted on the right

• First-quarter moon- the entire right half of the waxing moon can be seen

• waxing gibbous moon- more than half of the side of the moon facing Earth becomes visible

• Full moon- its entire lighted side faces Earth

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• It takes 14.5 days to go from a New moon to a full moon

• Waning phase- we see less of the moon's lighted side

Don't go away Moon

• Waning gibbous - first phase

• Third quarter moon- left half of the lighted side is visible

• Waning crescent moon- decreases until the new moon appears

• Waning phases take about 14.5 days

• The entire Moon Phases cycle is 29 days.

Multiple Choice

After a full moon, what is it called when we begin to see less and less of the moon?

• waxing

• waning

Multiple Choice

You see less than half of the Moon lighted on the right side.

• waxing

• waxing crescent moon

• waning phase

• waning gibbous moon

Multiple Choice

The period from the new moon to the full moon is about:

• 24 days

• 12 hours

• 14.5 days

• 29 days

Multiple Choice

The moon has its own power source. True or False

• True

• False

What is an eclipse?

• Lunar Eclipse: When Earth block sunlight from reaching the moon

• Twice each month, the moon crosses the path of Earth's orbit.

• When this happens during a Full Moon, the moon can get in Earth's shadow and NO sunlight will fall on the moon.

• During a total lunar eclipse, the moon might appear reddish in color.

• Partial Lunar Eclipse- more common; happens when the moon passes through a portion of Earth's shadow

Multiple Choice

Total lunar eclipses are very common.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Earth block sunlight from reaching the moon:

• eclipse

• solar eclipse

• full eclipse

• lunar eclipse

Solar Eclipse

• When Earth passes through the Moon's shadow

• Can only happen during a New Moon

• Total Solar Eclipses do not last very long and do not happen very often.

• Umbra- Dark shadow of the moon

• If you are within that umbra, only then will you experience a total solar eclipse.

• Most of the time the Sun and Moon do not line up exactly.

• DO NOT EVER LOOK AT A TOTAL solar eclipse, because the rays can still be extremely harmful.

Multiple Choice

Everyone can experience a total solar eclipse.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

A solar eclipse can only happen during a new moon.

• True

• False

Total Solar and Lunar Eclipse(notice the red color of the moon)

Tides on Earth

• Tides: high and low water levels on Earth's shore

• Gravity- force of attraction among objects

• The pull of gravity between Earth and Moon causes tides.

• The pull of gravity changes with distance.

• The pull is stronger on the side of the Earth facing the moon.

Spring and Neap Tides

• Spring tides- When the Sun and Earth and the moon are all in line; high tides are higher than normal and low tides are lower than normal

• Neap tides- the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon are at right angles; high tides are lower than normal and low tides are higher than normal

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Low Tide and High Tide

Low Tide and High Tide

Low Tide and High Tide