Lunar phases why

If the Earth was a basketball, the Moon would be a tennis ball, about 23 feet away. LPI Education. The student is expected to: B demonstrate and predict the sequence of events in the lunar cycle.

If the Earth was a basketball, the Moon would be a tennis ball, about 23 feet away Activities for Teaching Lunar Phases Moon Observations Students record data about Moon phases on a data sheet over the course of one complete Moon cycle approximately 28 days. Round cream cheese crackers can also be used if cookies are not an option. The team leaves on one instrument—called Diviner—that can watch how the lunar surface responds to the rapid change in temperature caused by a lunar eclipse.

The data helps scientists better understand the composition and properties of the surface. Earth's Moon. Fast Facts What are lunar phases and eclipses? The next full Moon is the Beaver Moon, and there will be a near-total lunar eclipse. Full Moon Guide: November - December NASA has selected a new Earth science mission that will study the behavior of tropical storms and thunderstorms.

Working together, two instruments could open the door for a more efficient, cost-effective way to gather key information for weather forecasting.

This page showcases our resources for those interested in learning more about ocean worlds. Ocean Worlds Resources. Use Chemistry. The Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum area on Oct. NASA is looking into whether mixed reality technology could help with repairs and upgrades on the Cold Atom Lab aboard the space station. The most recent "blue Moon" occurred in August On average, there's a Blue Moon about every 33 months. Blue Moons are rare because the Moon is full every 29 and a half days, so the timing has to be just right to squeeze two full Moons into a calendar month.

The timing has to be really precise to fit two Blue Moons into a single year. It can only happen on either side of February, whose day span is short enough time span to have NO full Moons during the month. The term "blue Moon" has not always been used this way, however. While the exact origin of the phrase remains unclear, it does in fact refer to a rare blue coloring of the Moon caused by high-altitude dust particles.

Most sources credit this unusual event, occurring only "once in a blue moon," as the true progenitor of the colorful phrase. The Moon always shows us the same face because Earth's gravity has slowed down the Moon's rotational speed.

The Moon takes as much time to rotate once on its axis as it takes to complete one orbit of Earth. Both are about In other words, the Moon rotates enough each day to compensate for the angle it sweeps out in its orbit around Earth. Jupiter has more known satellites than any other planet — 61! Saturn has at least 31 satellites, Uranus has 27, and Neptune has 13 — and more are being discovered all the time!

Pluto has one moon — Charon — the largest moon with respect to the size of the planet it revolves around. Only Mercury and Venus do not have any known satellites. Satellites are not restricted to planets; tiny Dactyl was discovered orbiting the asteroid Ida in !

LPI Education. Why does our Moon's shape change? Nearside view of Earth's Moon as seen by the Galileo Spacecraft. Farside view of Earth's Moon as seen. False color view of Saturn's moon Epimetheus. Jupiter's moon Europa. Jupiter's moon Io. Mars' moon Phobos.