06.04 Eclipses and Moon Phases

What causes lunar and solar eclipses?

When the Sun, Earth, and Mars are aligned.

Describe what causes a solar eclipse?

When the moon is positioned between Earth and the Sun.

Describe what causes a lunar eclipse?

Earth passes between the Sun and the moon.

Why do lunar eclipses make the moon appear red in color?

Because of the deviation of the sun's rays because of the Earth's atmosphere.

What causes the phases of the moon?

As the moon revolves around Earth each month, it reflects the light of the sun. and what we see on Earth is the parts of the moon being lit by the Sun.

At any given time in space, how much of the moon is lit by the sun?

A section of the moon.

Describe the appearance of the moon and its position during each phase:

New moon: we don't see the illuminated half of the moon during the new moon phase.

Waxing crescent moon: the light reflected from the moon to Earth increases as the moon moves in its orbit. increasing its apparent size, not its actual size.

First-quarter moon: is when we see the right half of the moon lit.

Waxing gibbous moon: not all of the moon's illuminated surface the lit surface appears to be increasing.

Full moon: we can see all the sunlight reflected off the moon

Waning gibbous moon: the reflected light begins to decrease. This begins the waning phases of the moon. Because we see most of the moon's illuminated surface, but it is decreasing in size.

Third-quarter moon: when we see the left half of the moon as lit.

Waning crescent moon: the moon is decreasing its apparent size. The light reflected from the moon to Earth decreases.

How are lunar phases different from eclipses?

Lunar phases allow us to see different amounts of the moon's surface that are reflecting light from the sun. Earth is not casting shadows on the moon as it does during a lunar eclipse. We are simply seeing the moon from different positions as it revolves around Earth.

When the moon passes between the sun and Earth, it can create a __________ eclipse.

Solar

When the disk of the moon masks the disk of the sun, it creates a _________ eclipse.

Annular

___________ eclipses occur when Earth passes between the sun and the moon.

Lunar

During a lunar eclipse, the moon turns dark ______ due to the deviation of the sun's rays caused by Earth's atmosphere.

Red

__________ eclipses occur more often and last longer

Lunar