PHASES OF THE MOON

•     Have you noticed that sometimes the moon appears as just a tiny sliver of light in the night sky, and other times it is a big, round, bright circle? The moon has many different looks depending on what time of the month it is. Each of these looks is called a lunar phase. Lunar means “of the moon”.  The moon has phases because Earth rotates around the sun, and the moon rotates separately around Earth. The moon itself does not actually change size, it’s just that different parts of it are in the shadow caused by the sun’s light.

• During the New Moon phase, none of the side of the moon that is facing Earth is lit by the sun, so it appears as only a dark outline. During the Waxing Crescent phase, only a tiny sliver of the side of the moon that is facing Earth is lit by the sun. During the First Quarter phase, half of the moon’s nearest side is lit by the sun, so we see it as a quarter full.  During the Waxing Gibbous phase, more of the nearest side is lit, but it is not quite full yet. During the Full Moon phase, all of the side of the moon that is facing Earth is lit by the sun, so it appears as a large, bright circle. During the Waning Gibbous phase, some of the part that was lit as a full moon begins to fall into the shadows. During the Last Quarter phase, the opposite side of the moon’s nearest side is lit.  Again, the moon appears as one quarter full. During the Waning Crescent phase, the moon slips further into shadows  and is a thin crescent shape once more before the entire  lunar cycle begins again.

 Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Don’t forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm   your answers.

1)   What is meant by a “phase” of the moon?

2)  Why does the moon appear to be different sizes?  

3)  What are the two phases during which the moon appears almost full, but not quite?

4) What are the two phases during which the moon appears as only a tiny sliver?

5)What is your favorite phase of the moon?  Why?