Moon Phases!
Hello everyone, and welcome too... Meapz4Science! Today we will talk some more about the moon. We will talk about... It's phases! I will have some help from Science Cat! Welcome! "Hello! I'd love to help!" Alright, then let's get started!
Alright. First we will talk about the superstitions regarding the moon's phases. "Like wolves howling at the moon?" Yes. As a matter of fact, wolves don't howl at the moon. They raise their heads in the air for acoustics, not to talk to the moon. "OK, here's another one: 'Is it true that strange behavior increases on nights of full moons?' Huh, it's a good theory." It isn't true, though. Scientists did a study, and there is no correlation with crime and the moon phases. "It' a bad idea anyway. If I were to rob a bank, I would do it during a new moon." They don't know about that yet! "Well then, let's get on with it then."
Okay, now we will talk about the moon's phases. "Wait! Some of our readers might not know what moon phases are!" Oh, yeah. Okay, so you know how sometimes the moon doesn't always appear in a full circle? "Or how sometimes you can't see it at all? Those are phases!" Yep. The reason the moon goes through phases is because the sun strikes the moon's surface at different angles. "One side of the moon is lit up, while one side of the moon is dark. It isn't always the same side, but we see the same side all the time." So, let's get on with the first one!
New Moon
Okay, the first moon phase is the new moon. This doesn't mean the moon is brand new. "This phase occurs when the moon is between us and the sun, so we can't see it." Right. You can't see a thing, not even a sliver. "That would be a waxing crescent. But we haven't gotten to that yet." No spoilers! Anyways, let's move on to the Waxing phases.
Waxing Phases
Now we will talk about the waxing phases. "Waxing means, increasing. You can tell what the moon is doing during this time." Right. You have the Waxing Crescent, which is the time between the new moon and the 1st Quarter. "The 1st quarter occurs when you can only see half of the illuminated side," Or 1 quarter of the moon. Then you have the Waxing Gibbous. "Gibbous means humpbacked, or the way the moon looks during this time." This is the time between the 1st quarter and the full moon. Now let's get on with every one's favorite!
Full Moon!!!
Now it's time for... The full moon! "This is my favorite phase!" Yep! This occurs when the Earth is between the sun and moon, meaning we can see the whole illuminated half of it! Yay! " But wouldn't that be a lunar eclipse? And about the new moon, how is that not a solar eclipse?" I will tell you. The moon isn't lined up directly with the equator. It almost always either stays above or below the equator. So yeah.
Waning Phases
Alright, so now we will talk about the Waning Phases. "The waning phases are basically the opposite of the waxing phases." Right. Waning means "decreasing" so it is going back to the new moon. "You also have the 'last quarter' which is when you see the other half of the lit up moon." You also have the waning gibbous and the waning crescent, but we won't get much into those.
Alright guys, that's all for today! " We hope you thoroughly enjoyed!" I'm Emma The Meap, "And I'm Science Cat," And we will see you next time. peace!!!
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