What did you notice about the phases of the moon? I noticed that the phases of the moon changed according to the way the sun shone on them. When the moon orbits, it doesn't spin the way our earth does, so we only see one side of the moon. As it circles around the earth, the shape of the earth effects how much sun will be shining on it, therefor how much light we see on the moon. The amount of light reflected off off of the moon is what causes the different shapes, and therefore the phases of the moon. I noticed that when the moon was closest to the sun, we see a new moon because the light is shining on the other side, and when the moon is farthest from the sun, we see a full moon because of the angle that the light is reflecting off of it. Why do we see different parts of the moon each night? We see different phases of the moon each night because the sun is always shining on the moon at a different angle. When the moon is closest to the sun, we see a new moon. When the moon is farther away, we see a full moon. The crescent moons we see are when the moon is half way between the sun and the earth and is either angling towards a new moon or a full moon.
What is a lunar month? A Lunar month is about the time measured that it take for the moon to rotated fully around the earth once. The moon takes about 29.9 days to make a complete orbit around earth, so our lunar months are around 30-31 days. How does the moon, sun and Earth interact to cause so many things to occur? What causes an eclipse and tide? The moon and sun are the reason for many of earths natural phenomenons. Since the begging of time, people have wondered about the phases of the moon, what causes the eclipse, and what causes the changing tides. The moon, sun, and earth are the reason for all of these things. The amount if light reflected on the sun is the reason for the new, full, and crescent moons. The earth also plays a part in the moon cycle. The earth will stop or block the light, and the rotation of earth will effect how we see the moon and how close to us it is. The earth blocking out the sun is what causes the eclipse of the moon. Every few years, the sun, earth, and moon will come into a prefect alignment, and the earth will block out all light from the moon. As they come together, the earth reflects a shadow on the moon, making it disappear for a few hours without any light. The moon is also what causes the changing tides. The pull of gravity let off by the moon effects the water cycle, causing high and low tides.