The Moon The moon is Earth’s closest neighbor-

384,000 miles away

If you traveled 100km/hr, it would take you 5 months to get there

Rotates on its own axis Revolves around the

Earth

The moon cont...

It takes the moon 27.3 days to rotate on its axis

It also takes the moon 27.3 days to revolve around the Earth

What does this mean???

One Day on the Moon is the same amount of time as one year on the moon!!!

The Moon...

Only one side of the moon always faces the Earth This is the Near side of the moon

The other side of the moon always faces away from the Earth This is the far side of the moon

The Phases of the Moon

How does the moon change shape every month?

The position of the Earth, moon, and sun cause the phases of the moon

Moon Phases Simulation

Phases of the Moon

Terms to Know: Waxing- means “to grow”

Is used when the moon goes from new moon to full moon

Waning- term used when the moon is getting smaller

Is used from full moon to new moon

Terms To Know:

Gibbous- “humpbacked” used to describe the moon when it is almost full between a full moon and a half moon, or between a

half moon and a full moon

Crescent- between a half moon and a new moon, or between a new moon and a half moon

Looks like a letter “C”

Eclipse An eclipse occurs when the moon's shadow hits

Earth or Earth's shadow hits the moon

Happens because of the moon's orbit (is tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit

Usually, the moon does not go directly between the Earth and the sun

Solar Eclipse

Happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sunlight from reaching Earth

Basically, the moon's shadow hits the Earth, which blocks out all the sun

Lunar Eclipse

Happens during a full moon when Earth is directly between the moon and the sun

Earth's shadow blocks sunlight from reaching the moon

Only occur during a full moon because this is when the moon is closest to Earth's shadow

Eclipses

Check out this website!

• This is sooooo cool!

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/lunar.html

What do tides have to do with astronomy?

• What is a tide?

– The rise and fall of water

– Water rises for approx. 6hrs then falls for 6 hrs

– Repeats this cycle daily

The Tides

• What causes the tides?

– The force of gravity pulls the moon and Earth (including all the water) toward each other

– Tides happen because of differences in how much the moon pulls on different parts of Earth

– Moon's gravity pulls water toward the point on Earth's surface closest to the moon

High Tides

• The force of gravity is stronger where the moon is closer to the Earth (This causes high tides)

• The force of gravity is weaker where the moon is furthest away from the Earth (

– This causes the Earth as a whole to be pulled toward the moon.

– Water is left behind, causes another high tide

Low Tides

• Occur between the closest and furthest points from the moon

• Water flows away from these points, causing low tides

What about the sun's gravity?

• The sun also has an effect on our tides

• New moon and full moon: sun, Earth, and moon are in a line

– Gravity of sun and moon pull in one direction

– Combined forces produce the biggest difference between low and high tide

– This is called a spring tide

cont...

• 1st quarter and 3rd quarter moon:

– Line between earth and the sun is at a right angle

– Sun's gravity is pulling in a different direction than the moon's gravity.

– Produces a tide with the least difference between high and low tide

– This is called a Neap Tide

• http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/TideAni.gif

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