The Lunar Cycle Why does the moon have

The Lunar Cycle

Why does the moon have phases? • The revolution of the Moon around the Earth causes the Moon to appear to have phases. • The Lunar Cycle is approximately 27 days or 1 month.

8 Moon Phases 1. New Moon 5. Full Moon 2. Waxing Crescent 6. Waning Gibbous 3. First Quarter 7. Last Quarter 4. Waxing Gibbous 8. Waning Crescent

New Moon • New Moon is not visible from Earth. The moon is between the Sun and the Earth. • The dark side is facing us.

Waxing Crescent • Waxing means that the bright side is increasing. The right side is the bright side. • Crescent means that less than half of the moon is illuminated.

First Quarter • The RIGHT HALF of the moon is illuminated. • The illuminated side is increasing.

Waxing Gibbous • Gibbous means that more than half is visible, but it is not quite full.

Full Moon • The moon is completely illuminated.

Waning Gibbous • Waning means that the bright side is decreasing. The left side is the bright side.

Last Quarter • The LEFT HALF of the moon is illuminated. • The illuminated side is decreasing.

Waning Crescent • Waning means that the bright side is decreasing. The left side is the bright side. • Crescent means that less than half of the moon is illuminated.

• Like the earth, half of the moon is always lighted by the sun. • Also like the Earth, half of the moon is completely dark. • The moon does not really change. We just see the different phases as it revolves around the Earth.