Moon & Its Phases

Yes, the moon is always shaped like a ball; however, it looks like it is changing shape because only part of it is lit up by the sun as it orbits the earth.

The phases of the moon repeat in a cycle about once a month. It starts with new moon, then crescent, quarter, gibbous and full moon. Then the phases repeat in reverse. That whole cycle takes about 28 days.

When you compare the moon and the sun they do appear the same size to us on Earth, but in reality the sun is 400 times lager. They look the same size because the moon is 400 times closer!

The moon does not create its own light, it only reflects light from the sun.

Not that we know of. Conditions on the moon are not right to support life. We have not found any evidence of life or any fossils. There is also no water on the moon which is needed for life as we know it.

They mainly study them through telescopes. They also send different kinds of spacecraft to other planets and their moons. Humans landed on the moon for the first time about 50 years ago and we have sent spacecraft to many planets, including one currently on Mars!

As the moon orbits the earth, the sun always shines on half of it, but from Earth we may only see part of that illuminated surface. The phase we see depends on where the moon is in its orbit around the Earth.

The moon is lit by the sun. It is important to remember that the moon does not make its own light, it only reflects light from the sun.

The moon is smaller than the sun but it is also 400 times closer. That makes it seem like it is the same size as the sun.

Asteroids smashing into the surface of the moon created some of the features we can see on the moon’s surface (craters). Volcanic activity in the past created other features like mountain ranges and dark areas called “mares.” Volcanic activity stopped a few billion years ago, but asteroids continue to hit the moon because there is very little atmosphere to stop them.

The pull of moon’s gravity affects the water of the oceans and causes tides.

Some moons of Jupiter and Saturn have chemicals that could provide energy for living things. An atmosphere and liquids can be found on one of Saturn’s moons.