The Phases of the Moon (applying the scientific method)

• How does the appearance of the moon change?
  • what are the phases of the Moon?
  • at what time of the day do we see a full moon?
  • at what time of the day do we see a new moon?
  • what is its periodicity (how long till the pattern repeats)?
• Does the Moon ever seem closer or further away?
• What makes the Moon shine?
• Does the Moon ever seem brighter or fainter?
• A movie showing a series of observations of the Moon taken over the course of a month
• What do we know about the orientation of the Earth, Moon, and Sun?
• Remember that the Earth spins around its own axis once a day. This means the Sun, the Moon, and the stars all appear to rise in the east and to set in the west.
• A movie (MPG format, some web-browsers will not be able to play this) of a lunar eclipse
  • here, the Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the light
  • the movie is roughly one hour long
  • how is this similar to the phases of the Moon?
  • how is it different from the phases of the Moon?