1. Observing the Phases of the Moon

2. Moon Orbit Moon orbits Earth every 27.3 days As it revolves it also rotates on its axis Therefore, the same side of the Moon faces Earth at all times

3. The Earth, Moon & Sun Sun Earth Moon

4. Lunar Phases When we see the Moon, we see the light from the Sun reflected off its surface –The illuminated side does not always face Earth –We see different amounts of the lit side as the Moon orbits Earth

5. Why does the moon not look the same every night? Different phases of the moon

6. The Far Side of the Moon The full view of the far side of the moon is never visible from Earth The far side was first photographed by the Soviet Luna 3 orbiter in 1959

7. Naming the phases of the moon.

8. Terminology for Moon Phases: Crescent – phases where the moon is less than half illuminated. Gibbous - phases where the moon is more than half illuminated. Waxing - "growing" or expanding in illumination Waning - "shrinking" or decreasing in illumination.

9. Phases

10. Phases in Motion

11. Waxing Gibbous

12. Waxing Cresent

13. Last Quarter

14. New Moon

15. Full Moon

16. Waning Cresent

17. Eclipses The Moon's orbit around Earth is tilted relative to Earth's orbit around the sun. Lunar Eclipses occur only at the time of the full moon. Solar Eclipses occur only at the time of the new moon. An eclipse can only happen when the sun, moon and Earth are in a nearly perfect straight line.

18. What happens more often, solar or lunar eclipses? Solar eclipses are fairly numerous, about 2 - 5 per year, but the area on the ground covered by totality is only a few km wide. In any given location on Earth, a total eclipse happens only once every 360 years. Eclipses of the Moon by the Earth's shadow are actually less numerous than solar eclipses; however, each eclipse covers about 1/2 the surface of the Earth. At any given location, you can have up to 3 lunar eclipses per year, but some years there may be none. In any one calendar year, the maximum number of eclipses is 4 solar and 3 lunar.

19. Lunar Eclipse When the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon Total Eclipse - the entire moon passes through the Earth’s shadow Partial Eclipse - only part of the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow

20. Lunar Eclipse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuhNZejHeBg

21. Solar Eclipse When the moon is between the Sun and Earth Only possible when there is a new Moon Only the Corona of the Sun is visible

22. Solar Eclipse

24. Tides & Tidal Force Gravity of moon and sun pull the Earth’s water toward them. This causes tides: –The rising and falling of the surface of large bodies of water

25. This results in TWO high tides and TWO lows tides on Earth each day. The time between low and high tide is approximately SIX hours.

26. Tide

27. Tidal Force The side of the planet/moon closest to the other body experiences a tidal pull due to the force of gravity. When Sun and Moon are aligned then the effect on the tides is increased. When the Sun and Moon are perpendicular to one another the two gravitational pulls counteract each other and there are weaker tides formed.