Which direction does the Moon move across the sky monthly?

Answer 1

A New Moon's location is between the Earth and the Sun. When this alignment is perfect there is a Solar Eclipse where the Moon's shadow falls on the face of the Earth. As viewed from Earth the Moon is totally in shadow during this phase as the sunlight is falling completely on the far side of the moon.

A few days after the New Moon the Moon has moved slightly in it's 28 day orbit (eastward in the sky) and you can spot the tiny sliver of a crescent moon best seen just after sunset. Most of the Moon is still in shadow but you are seeing a small portion of it lit up by the sun. If you are in the northern hemisphere, the right side of the moon is illuminated.

Each day after sunset the Moon will be slightly higher in the sky (more eastward) and a larger portion will be lit up. The Moon is Waxing (or getting bigger).

When you see 50% of the Moon in shadow and 50% of the Moon in sunlight about a week after new moon, that is called the First-Quarter Moon. Again, from the northern Hemispere, the Moon is lit up on the right side and shadowed on the left side.

Now that shadow on the left will get smaller and smaller each day as the moon moves further and further east each day till you have a fully illuminated Moon - A Full Moon!

Now, if you get up before dawn each morning and watch the moon you will see the moon start to Wane. A Waning Moongets less light each day. Each morning you will see the shadowed side of the Moon get larger and larger as the Moon continues along it's eastward orbit till, finally, there is a thin eastward-facing crescent just above the sun before sunrise!

Then the cycle starst all over again.

Answer 2

Very tricky! The moon appears to be rising in the east and setting in the west, but that is an apparent motion only. The moon actually orbits from west to east around the earth. It is the earth's spin (rapid, relative to the moon's monthly orbit) that causes both the sun and the moon to appear to rise in the east and set in the west.

Answer 3

I don't know what you mean, but the moon orbits the earth, meaning it moves in a giant circle. Sometimes it gets in between the Earth and the sun, thus creating an eclipse. If you mean how, it's gravity.

Answer 4

The Moon orbits the Earth counterclockwise and it spins in the same direction at exactly the same time because it keeps the same face to the Earth as it orbits it.

The " direction of spin" is as viewed from above Earth's North Pole.

Answer 5

The moon travels west to east around the earth; the same direction the earth (and the other planets) travel around the sun. This is probably due to the direction of the swirling gas when the planets were formed. If the gas swirled west to east, as planets coalesced they got their direction during their creation.

Answer 6

This question is easy to answer with just a bit of scientific observation. The following experimental
protocol is suggested:

Step 1). First observation:
Go outside on a night when the moon is visible. Look at the moon, and the stars around it.
Make a rough sketch in your notebook, and also note the time.

Step 2). Second observation:
Go outside the next night, about 45 minutes later than on the first night. Look at the moon,
and the stars around it. Make a rough sketch in your notebook.

Step 3). Reduce the data:
Go inside and sit down with your notebook. Compare the two sketches.

You'll see that on the second night compared to the first, the moon appeared in the same direction
about 50 minutes later, and had moved (about 13 degrees) east relative to the stars.

Answer 7

The moon travels west to east, the rotation of the earth makes it appear it is travelling east to west.

Answer 8

The light or darkness moves from right to left across the Moon during the Lunar cycle.

Answer 9

The Moon moves across the sky from east to west due to the rotation of the Earth. It rises in the east and sets in the west, with its position and phase changing daily as it orbits the Earth.

Answer 10

Looking down from the north pole we would see the moon orbiting counterclockwise to the east.