1. *Moon Phases
Notes

2. *Vocabulary
*Phase: the change in the sunlit area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body
*Waxing: appears to get bigger
*Waning: appears to get smaller
*Crescent: thin c-shape
*Gibbous: almost full circle

3. *Why Phases?
*The positions of the moon, sun, and Earth determine which phase the moon is in.
*The sun lights up one side of the moon at a time.
*As the moon revolves around Earth, the amount of the sunlit side we see changes.

4. Misconceptions Moon phases are not caused by shadows from Earth.
The moon doesn’t actually change shape or size. It’s all about appearance.
There is no “dark side” of the moon. There’s a side we never see, but it experiences day and night.

5. *Diagram *This is the view of the moon from Earth. First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Waxing Crescent
*This is the view of the moon from Earth.
Full Moon
New Moon
Waning Gibbous
Waning Crescent
Third Quarter

6. *Moon Phase Memory Trick
When you’re trying to identify the moon phases on paper, use this trick.
* Find New Moon & label the rest in order.