EARTH’S MOON

THE MOON ROTATES AS IT ORBITS EARTH

The moon’s diameter is about ¼ Earth’s diameter

The pull of gravity keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth.

The Moon is earth’s closest neighbor in space.

The distance between Earth and the moon is about 240,000 miles

100 X the Distance from: NYC to LA

It takes a spaceship

about 3 days to reach

the moon

It would take a jet

liner 20 days to

reach the moon

Only one side of the Moon can be seen from Earth, “The Near Side”

It takes the Moon 27.3 days to orbit the Earth

The Moon’s CratersFar side – Side of the Moon that faces away from EarthNearside – Side of the

Moon that faces towards EarthCovered with a lot of dark-colored featuresCovered with few dark-colored features

Early astronomers thought that the dark areas might be bodies of water, so they called the

areas MARA. This means “sea” in Latin.

The moon has…NO AIR

NO OCEANS

NO CLOUDSNO LIFE

CRESCENT VS. GIBBOUS MOONS

The amount of the Moon that you see from Earth depends on the angle between the

Moon and the Sun.When the angle between the Sun and the Moon is small, you see a small amount of the Moon.

When the angle between the Sun and the Moon is large, you see a large amount of the Moon.When the Moon

appears close to the Sun in the sky

When the Moon appears far away from the Sun in the sky

ECLIPSES

When the Moon, the Sun, and the Earth line up exactly, a shadow crosses Earth or the Moon.

An eclipse occurs when a shadow makes the Sun or the Moon seem to grow dark.

LUNAR ECLIPSES

The Moon becomes dark during a lunar eclipse

because it passes through Earth’s shadow.

Lunar Eclipses only occur during the FULL moon!

2 PARTS OF EARTH’S SHADOW

Umbra Penumbra**Is the darkest part of Earth’s Shadow

**Is a spreading cone of lighter shadow

**The entire Moon can be in darkness because the Moon is small enough to fit entirely within Earth’s umbra.

**The Moon moves into Earth’s penumbra and becomes slightly less bright.

SOLAR ECLIPSES**Occurs when the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun.