The document discusses the phases of the moon and what causes them. It explains that the moon revolves around Earth over approximately 29.5 days, showing us different portions of its illuminated side. The 8 main phases - new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent - occur as the moon completes its cycle. It also briefly describes the harvest moon and blue moon phenomena. Diagrams accompany the text to illustrate each phase of the moon.

1. Moon Phases &
Interesting Moons
Ms. Hudson's Class 2014-15

2. What Causes Moon Phases?
Moon phases are caused by the moon’s revolution
around Earth, causing us to see different portions of
the moon reflecting the sun’s light.
Fig. 1

3. Moon’s Rotation around Earth
• The moon takes approximately 29.5 days to make a
trip around Earth.
• In that time, we see different portions of the moon
reflecting light.
• The moon does not create it’s own light.
• There are 8 basic phases to learn.
• Waxing refers to when the moon is gaining light.
• Waning refers to when the moon is losing light.

4. New Moon
• Happens when the Moon’s “back” is to us.
• All light is on the side of the moon we can’t
see.
• This is the first moon in the cycle.
Fig. 2
Left: We cannot see a new moon from earth. This
picture shows an almost new moon with a sliver of
light left.

5. Waxing Crescent
• The name “Waxing
Crescent” is used to
describe a moon that
we view as gaining very
little light.
Fig. 3

6. First Quarter (Half Moon)
• The first quarter moon
refers to the moon
when it is one quarter
of the way through it’s
revolution around
Earth.
• The moon appears half
lit to us.
Fig. 4

7. Waxing Gibbous
• Waxing Gibbous refers to
the moon that is gaining
more light, but it’s shape is
not quite a full circular
moon.
Fig. 5

8. Full Moon
• The full moon is when
the face of the moon
that we see, is
completely reflecting
the suns light.
Fig. 6

9. Waning Gibbous
• A waning gibbous
comes after a full
moon.
• This is when the moon
is on the last half of it’s
revolution around
Earth.
• The moon starts to
“lose” light.
Fig. 5

10. Third Quarter
• The third quarter moon
is when the moon is ¾
it’s way through it’s
revolution around
Earth.
• The moon again looks
like a half moon to us.
Fig. 4

11. Waning Crescent
• The waning crescent is
the last moon we see
before the new moon.
• There is only a little
light showing as the
moon continues back to
a new moon.
Fig. 7

12. Interesting Moons
• There are two interesting moons that you may
have heard of:
– The Harvest Moon
– Blue Moon (Not the ice cream)
• We will see these moons next.

13. Harvest Moon
• The harvest moon
happens at the
Autumnal equinox.
• The moon is not colored
or bigger, it just
represents the shorter
daytime hours.
• When the moon
appears orange, many
call it a Harvest moon.
Fig. 8

14. Blue Moon
• A blue moon is a rare
event.
• This happens when we
have an extra full moon
in a normal calendar
month.
• Because it is rare, this is
where the phrase,
“once in a blue moon”
comes from.
Fig.
9

15. The End
Fig. 10

16. References
Images
Fig 1. Spirit-Fire. “Moon-in-phases” March 2, 2012 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution
Fig 2. NASA Goddard Space Center. “New Moon” June 25, 2011 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 3. Glass House. “The Waxing Crescent Moon” October 9, 2010 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 4. Kris McCracken. “Half Moon” July 19, 2014 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 5. Dendroica Cerulea. “Waxing Gibbous Moon” October 4, 2014 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 6. VinceFL. “Tonight’s Full Moon 11_04_2014 157” November 5, 2014 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 7. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center “Crescent Moon” February 10, 2011 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 8. Adventures of KM&G-Morris “Harvest Moon” September 8, 2014 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 9. Aftab Uzzaman “Once in a Blue Moon” March 19, 2011 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Fig 10. Sandeep Gangadharan, “Phases of the Moon” November 13, 2008 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution.
Information
Bird, D. (2014, September 6). Everything You Need to Know: The Super Harvest Moon of 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from
http://earthsky.org/space/harvest-moon-2#what
Blue moon. (2014, November 14). Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon
Miller, P., Keating, C., & Sidhwa, A. (2011, February 16). Phases of the Moon. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?ST_ID=490