Moon Phase Sub-Questions

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    1. Name and display the phases of the moon. 

    2. If you looked at the moon every other day for a week, would its appearance change? Explain?

    3. When the moon is illuminated on the right side (as seen by an observer in the Northern Hemisphere    on Earth), is it waxing or waning? Explain.     

    4. Describe what is happening when the moon is illuminated on the left side. 

    5. Why can you sometimes see the moon during the day? 

    6. Why is the moon not visible at all times, even when the sky is clear? 

    7. Describe the motion for one day of the observed moon using azimuth and altitude (N, E, S, W and 0° - 90°.) 

    8. Does the Moon setting earlier, later, or at the same time from one night to the next? 

    9. Why is the “first quarter” phase given its name yet you observe a “half moon’? 

   10. If you observe the moon today, how many days will it take until you observe the same phase of the moon again? How could you find out for yourselves how long it takes for the moon to look the same as today? 

   11. What is the mean distance from the Earth to moon? 

   12. What is the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun? 

   13. How many Earth diameters fit across the Sun’s diameter? 

   14. How many moon diameters fit across the Sun’s diameter? 

   15. Is the moon the only object in our solar system with observed “phases”? Explain.