StarChild Question of the Month for March 2002 Question: Why is the crescent Moon sometimes lit on the bottom? Optional: Have students complete the Moon Phases activity. Visitors point. The shape of the moon changes according to the reflection of the sun's light upon its surface. Why does the Moon look like it does right now? Asimov, Isaac; Abstract. From lunar orbit, astronauts pointed cameras out the window of their spacecraft to capture photos of the moon's surface. But why does the moon have phases at all? Ask students when they can see the Moon, what shape it is and where in the sky it is located. Explains why the moon changes from crescent to full moon every twenty-nine and one-half days. For centuries, eclipse maps have depicted the shape of the Moon's umbra on the ground as a smooth ellipse. The moon orbits the Earth once every 27.322 days. OR: Would you like to find out a way to show why the Moon has phases? First of all, the moon revolves around the Earth once every 29.5 days. To do: Hand out Moon balls. Decades later, it is still widely regarded as one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The lunar umbra is the part of the Moon's shadow where the entire Sun is blocked by the Moon. The Moon made its film debut in a 1902 black and white silent French film called "Le Voyage Dans la Lune" ("A Trip to the Moon"). Explains why the moon changes from crescent to full moon every twenty-nine and one-half days. The shape of the moon appears to change because its position changes during its revolution around Earth. The 'dark' side of the moon. It also takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate once on its axis. Guesses. Provide students with multiple copies of the Moon Observation Sheet and explain how to complete it. Between 1967 and 1972, a series of missions landed the first men on the moon. This color composite shows 320 nm light in blue, 415 nm in green and 689 nm in red, scene is ~1000 km wide. Why does the Moon appear to change shape? The LROC WAC is busily mapping the Moon in 7 UV and visible wavelengths (320 nm through 689 nm). ... Why does the moon change shape? The moon, which is the second brightest object in the sky, does not actually change its shape as many on earth may observe. Answer: A careful observer will certainly notice that over the period of months, the crescent of the Moon does indeed seem to go from being lit on the "bottom" of the Moon to being lit on the side of the Moon. Why does the Moon have phases? And a year before astronauts walked on the Moon, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) told the story of astronauts on an outpost on the Moon. The annual orbit of the Earth-Moon system around the Sun coupled with the Moon's synodic orbit around Earth mean that the conditions for such a permanent alignment are always changing. But as this visualization shows — in a way never seen before — the shape is dramatically altered by both the rugged lunar terrain and the elevations of observers on the Earth. The closest look we’ve had at the moon came from the launch of NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s. To answer this question, it's necessary to understand two important facts. Discuss why student responses might differ. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University Colors on the Moon are dominantly controlled by variations in iron and titanium content. The overall effect is to twist and distort the shape and orientation of the Moon's elliptical orbit. As a result, the moon does …