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Moon
Why does the moon change shape?
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1 Reply
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The moon does not actually change shape throughout the month. What changes is how much of the illuminated side of the moon we can see from Earth as it orbits around us.The moon’s phases are caused by:
- The moon orbiting the Earth
- The Earth orbiting the Sun
- The position of the moon relative to the Sun and Earth
The moon does not produce its own light. The “moonlight” we see is actually sunlight reflecting off the moon’s surface. The side of the moon facing the Sun is illuminated, while the other side is dark.As the moon orbits the Earth, the illuminated portion changes from our perspective. When the moon is between the Earth and Sun, the illuminated side faces away from us, so we see no reflected sunlight – this is a new moon.As the moon continues in its orbit, we see more of the illuminated side, first as a crescent, then a half moon, then a gibbous shape, until the entire illuminated side faces Earth – a full moon.After the full moon, we see less of the illuminated side again, going through the same phases in reverse order until the next new moon. But the moon itself does not physically change shape at all.
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