Moon Phases Interactive Station

What people sometimes call "moonlight" is actually sunlight reflecting off the moon's surface. The moon itself doesn't give off any light at all. But the moon can sometimes look blue, orange or even red depending on the particles (like dust or pollution) in the atmosphere and the moon's location in the sky.

It takes approximately one month for the moon to travel around the Earth. Because of the moon's movement around the Earth and the reflected light from the sun, we see different portions of the moon's lit half at different times.

While out camping one spring night, you think the moon looks orange. What is one possible explanation?

• The moon is in its orange phase.

• The sun is orange, and the moon is reflecting its reddish light.

• • The dust in the atmosphere makes the moon appear orange.

• The moon itself is giving off an orange light

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Generally, the lunar phases are named after the shape of the sun's reflection on the moon that we can see. The quarter moon is an exception. It's sometimes called a half moon, because that's what it looks like. The phases are also named according to whether the moon is getting bigger or smaller each day. When the shape of the moon seems to be growing larger, we say that it's waxing. When the shape of the moon seems to be getting smaller, we say that it's waning.

Although there are five different ways to describe the shape of the moon (full, gibbous, quarter, crescent and new) there are officially eight phases of the moon. The descriptors “waning” or “waxing” are added to three of the moon phases to specify if the moon is getting bigger or smaller. There's waxing gibbous and waning gibbous, waxing quarter and waning quarter, and waxing crescent and waning crescent.

If a moon that looks half full is on its way to increasing into a full moon, it is called a

• waning quarter.

• waxing quarter.

• waning gibbous.

• waxing gibbous.

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The new moon is the first phase of the moon. During the day, a new moon is between the sun and the Earth. It's daytime, so we usually can't see it. Then, at night, the moon is on the other side of the Earth. Because the moon is not lighting up the sky, this is the best time to see stars and constellations.

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the new moon phase and constellations?

• During the new moon phase, constellations take on different shapes due to a lack of moonlight.

• During the new moon phase, constellations are on the same side of the earth as the sun.

• During the new moon phase, constellations are easier to see due to a lack of moonlight.

• During the new moon phase, constellations are easier to see due to increased sunlight.

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The crescent moon is the second phase of the moon. At this phase, less than half of the moon's face is visible. To figure out if the moon is waxing or waning, you can hold a finger up to the crescent-moon shape. If your finger against the crescent moon makes a lowercase “b” shape, then it's getting bigger (waxing). If your finger makes a lowercase “d” shape, then the moon is getting smaller (waning).

Crescent moon

During a crescent moon,

• it is easy to tell if the moon is waxing or waning.

• more than half of the moon’s face is visible.

• the moon cannot be seen at night.

• 
  the moon is in its third phase

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The quarter moon is the third phase of the moon. One week after the new moon, or a quarter of the way through the moon's phases, we see the “quarter” moon. This can get a little bit confusing because it appears in the sky as a half moon. In fact, some people call it a half moon.

The gibbous moon is when more than half of the moon is visible. The term “gibbous” also means “bulging” or “hunchbacked,” which is kind of what an almost-full (or gibbous) moon looks like.

A quarter moon is called this because

• it appears a quarter of the way through the moon’s phases.

• we can see a quarter of the moon during this lunar phase.

• the moon looks bulging or hunchbacked

• a quarter of the way into every month.

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During a full moon, the moon appears as a complete circle in the night sky. After the full moon phase, the moon will appear to decrease in size moving through the phases in reverse order.

The moon, like the Earth and the sun (and everything else), has gravity. Its gravity pulls slightly on the Earth. The tides of the ocean happen because of the gravity from the moon (and the sun). The moon's gravity pulls the oceans up a little bit, and that creates high tides. Different phases of the moon create different tides.

Which of the following best describes the effect the moon has on the tides?

• 
  

• 
  The gravity of the moon pulls the ocean, which causes the tides.

• When the moon is invisible in the sky, tides cannot be seen.

• Tides only happen at night when the moon is visible.

• The moon’s light makes it possible to see the tides at night.

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How long does it take the moon to complete all 8 phases

• 365 days

• 1 year

• about a month

• 60 minutes

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