Moon phases The lighted side of the Moon faces away from Earth. How the moon appears to Earth dwellers at different positions in its orbit is shown below:
On the scale of the earth as a 10” globe, how far is the moon, sun, etc.? 25 feet Sun: 1.9 miles Pluto: 73 miles Alpha Centauri: 500,000 miles Space Shuttle: 0.25 inch
What causes an eclipse? Sun Solar Eclipse Earth Lunar Eclipse
The lunar cycle An eclipse is when light is obscured by an object. The Sun-facing side of the Moon is lit by sunlight almost all the time.
Solar eclipses A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s shadow falls on Earth.
Tides The daily cycle of rising and falling ocean levels is called a tide.
Spring tides The gravity from the Sun can work with the Moon to create unusually high and low tides. Unusually high and low tides are called spring tides.
Neap tides Neap tides occur when there is unusually little difference between high and low tides