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1
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2
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3
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- The revolution of the Moon around the Earth makes the Moon look as if it
is changing shape in the sky.
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4
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- This is caused by the different angles from which we see the lighted
part of the Moon's surface. These are called "phases" of
the Moon.
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5
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6
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- The Moon passes through four major shapes during a cycle that repeats
itself every 29.5 days. The phases always follow one another in
the same order:
- New moon
- First quarter
- Third quarter
- Full moon
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7
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- The lighted side of the Moon faces away from the Earth. This means
that the Sun, Earth, and Moon are almost in a straight line, with the
Moon in between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon that we see looks
very dark
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8
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9
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- The right half of the Moon appears lighted and the left side of the Moon
appears dark. During the time between the New Moon and the First
Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears lighted gets larger and
larger every day, and will continue to grow until the Full Moon.
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10
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11
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- Sometimes called Third Quarter. The left half of the Moon appears
lighted, and the right side of the Moon appears dark. During the
time between the Full Moon and the Last Quarter Moon, the part of the
Moon that appears lighted gets smaller and smaller every day. It will
continue to shrink until the New Moon, when the cycle starts all over
again.
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12
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13
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- The lighted side of the Moon faces the Earth. This means that the
Earth, Sun, and Moon are nearly in a straight line, with the Earth in
the middle. The Moon that we see is very bright from the sunlight
reflecting off it.
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14
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15
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16
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- This Moon can be seen after the New Moon, but before the First Quarter
Moon. The crescent will grow larger and larger every day, until
the Moon looks like the First Quarter Moon.
- ("Waxing" means increasing, or growing larger.)
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17
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18
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- This Moon can be seen after the First Quarter Moon, but before the Full
Moon. The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow larger and
larger every day. ("Waxing" means increasing, or growing
larger.)
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19
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20
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- This Moon can be seen after the Full Moon, but before the Last Quarter
Moon. The amount of the Moon that we can see will grow smaller and
smaller every day. ("Waning" means decreasing, or growing
smaller.)
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21
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22
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- This Moon can be seen after the Last Quarter Moon and before the New
Moon. The crescent will grow smaller and smaller every day, until
the Moon looks like the New Moon.
- ("Waning" means decreasing, or growing smaller.)
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23
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24
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25
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26
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27
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28
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29
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- http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/moonlight.html
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