An eclipse of the Moon
The night is clear, and a bright, full moon is shining. Slowly, a dark shadow begins to fall across the face of the moon. The shadow seems to move along until it completely covers the moon.
This event is called an eclipse of the moon, or a lunar eclipse. It takes place when Earth comes between the moon and the sun. The shadow creeping across the moon is the shadow of Earth!
What is Phases of the Moon? The moon seems to change from a thin crescent to a full circle. Each time the moon looks different, we say it is in a new phase. A phase is a change in the moon’s shape as it is seen from Earth.
- In the moon’s first phase, it can’t be seen at all. That is because the moon is between Earth and the sun. The sun is shining on the side of the moon that faces the sun, but there is no sunlight on the side that faces us. So all we see is darkness.
- After a day or two, the moon moves to one side of us. Then we can see a tiny bit of the side that is lit by the sun. We call this phase a crescent moon.
- After about seven days, we can see half of the moon’s sunlit side. This phase is called a half moon.
- After about two weeks, the moon is halfway around Earth from where it started. Now we can see the whole side of the moon that the sun is shining on. We call this phase a full moon. The moon keeps moving, and the part we can see gets smaller and smaller. Finally, the moon is between Earth and the sun again.
Picture Credit : Google
