why do we have a half moon one night and maybe a full moon another night?

Question

what causes the moon to change shape? I was just wondering this as i was sitting outside with my g/f the other night and she mentioned it!

Answer 1

Take your g/f into a dark room, with a bright flashlight. Bring a basketball.

Set the baskeball in one spot, and set your g/f in another spot about 10 feet away. The basketball is the moon, and your g/f is an observer on the the earth.

The flashlight is obviously the sun. Walk around to different sides of the basketball and shine the flashlight on it (from, say, 3 feet away). Ask your girlfriend what she sees.

If the room is nice and dark and the flashlight bright, you should be able to simulate the "phases" of the moon. When the flashlight is on the same side as your g/f, she'll see a "full moon"; when she & the flashlight are on nearly opposite sides, she'll see a "crescent moon."

So, the explanation is that, as the moon and earth move in their orbits, the angle from which the sun shines on the moon changes. When the sun is nearly "behind" the moon, the moon looks like a crescent (and sure enough, you will notice that thin crescent moons are always on the same side of the sky as the sun). And when the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the sky, the moon will look full.

Answer 2

The Moon is a sphere, and travels around the Earth once every 28 days. The Sun illuminates the Moon from a much greater distance away.

At New Moon, the Moon is almost between the Sun and the Earth, so the Moon is backlit. The side towards us is completely dark because no sunlight can reach it. As the Moon moves around the Earth, the Sun starts to illuminate the spherical Moon, and we see a thin crescent Moon, still mostly backlit. By First Quarter, the Moon has moved half way around the Earth, so that one half of it is drenched in sunlight, while the rest is still dark. At Full Moon, the Sun Earth and Moon are almost in line, and the side of the Moon towards us is fully illuminated. A couple of times a year, the shadow of the Earth can fall on the Moon, causing a lunar eclipse, but that's the ONLY time the Earth's shadow hits the Moon.

As the Moon continues around the Earth, it moves to Third Quarter, where the Sun is coming from the side again, illuminating half the Moon. The Moon then continues around to New Moon again, the illuminated part shrinking until the Moon is again backlit.

An important thing to note is that the phases of the Moon are caused entirely by the Sun's light illuminating the spherical Moon. The Earth's shadow has absolutely nothing to do with it, since it's only for a couple of hours a month, if at all, that the Earth's shadow falls anywhere near the Moon.

Answer 3

The phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth, on average, in 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes.

The sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes thru the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us, a bright, round disk. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon.

Answer 4

Hello,

(ANS) The size ans shape of the moon as we see it from our specific position on the earths surface on any given clear night. Is determined by the earths relative position to the moon in space. Its the earths shadow that falls upon the moon due to our position that causes the phases of the moon from new moon at the start of the lunar cycle to full moon and back again.

**Every day can be mapped or associated with a lunar cycle, our ancient ancestors were very good at knowing these lunar cycles and planted their crops related to the lunar calender.

**Thus full moon is when the earth casts zero shadow on the moon and new moon is when the earth casts its maximum shadow. And no moon (dark moon) takes place when the earths shadow obscures any sun light from reaching the moon at all, thus we don't see it until the first thin slither of the new moon.

**To full understand or appreciate the way this all works its best to see the real positions of the three objects i.e. moon, earth and sun and how the align with each other. It all makes sense if you were to see a diagram of this.

Ivan

Answer 5

It is NOT, as some people think, the shadow of the earth. Rather it is the way the sunlight falls on the moon as it orbits the earth.

here is a link to a site that demonstrates it nicely. (Okay, it's for kids, but it is rather well done!)

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/phases.html

Answer 6

The moon goes through waxing and waning cycles as it changes position with respect to the earth's terminator.

Answer 7

The moooon controls the sees with gravitational pull. the two greater or closer to earth, i will't keep in mind. besides, if we've gravitational pull on our minds, i might think of that we would act a splash ... funky (for loss of a greater advantageous be conscious, ne?) I supply you with kudos, although, for truly noticing the substitute in character of the individuals around you and your self!! some are too ignorant, some think of to tense into it thinking they're transforming into a wolf or something, and that i ought to thank you for no longer being a centerer and truly seeing previous it. ^ ^ yay, i such as you!! the two that, or you should be insomniatic each 32 days ... purely kidding. in case you pass to a wellness facility, or a nursing domicile, you will see human beings appearing humorous. I kinda wanna see how human beings in psychological asylums act ... hmmm

Answer 8

Well to be honest there is no such thing as half or full moon.

My explaination to this is that we only see one side of it. The other side is daylight.

So when whe see a full moon it is only actually half of it.
And when we see half moon it is only a quarter.

Answer 9

because of the angel of earth (23 1/2)

Answer 10

i think its the shade of our plant when the sun is on the opisite side of the earth