How does the Moon go through phases?
How the Moon Goes Through PhasesGet a ball, and go to a room that has light from only one window or lamp. Then, try this:
- New Moon. Stand facing the light and hold the ball up in front of you. You're the Earth. You won't see any light shining on the ball (the Moon). The light is shining on the other side. This is called the New Moon.
- First Quarter. Slowly turn toward your left. As you turn, you start to see the side of the ball that is lit up. This is what the Moon looks like one week after the New Moon. It's called the First Quarter.
- Full Moon. Keep turning around to your left so you are facing away from the lamp. Hold the ball in front of you. Keep it up so it's not in your shadow. The light shines on one whole side of the ball. This is what the Moon looks like two weeks after the New Moon. It's called the Full Moon.
- Last Quarter. Turn more to your left until the light is on your left side. Half the ball is lighted again but this time it is the left half. This is what the Moon looks like three weeks after the New Moon. This phase is called the Last Quarter.
Keep turning to your left until you are back where you started. You have turned through four weeks of the phases of the Moon.
CloseThe sky has many wonders that change from night to night.
Look up! You might see:
- The Moon,
- Star patterns,
- Shooting stars.
Want to know more about these beautiful night-sights?
Moon swings
What's the Moon phase tonight?
The Moon cycles through changes (called phases).
It seems to get bigger until it is a full circle.
Then it gets smaller until you can't see it at all!
The Moon from Apollo 8
NASA has provided this photograph of a nearly full moon taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft.
For a full description of the features you see on the moon, click here.
CloseIf you have a pair of binoculars, use them to get a better look at the Moon. You can see craters and mountains.
The craters really stand out along the line between the sunlit part and the dark part.
Pictures in the sky
Asterisms are easily recognizable patterns of stars.
People think that some asterisms make pictures. Ancient people named these shapes and made up stories about them. We call them constellations.
To find star patterns in the night sky, go outside about an hour after the Sun sets.
Follow the drinking gourd.
Follow the Drinking GourdBefore the Civil War, escaped slaves used the North Star as a guide to travel north to states where they could be free.
A song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, was used as secret directions to travel north.
Drinking gourd was the name for the Big Dipper.
CloseIt may take up to half an hour for your eyes to get used to the dark.
Keep reading to learn about just a few constellations and asterisms...
