How is the cycle of the moon's changing positions related to the months of the year?

Answer 1

The phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth in 27.3 days, or 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes, on average. This measurement is relative to the stars and is called the sidereal period or orbital period. However, because of the earth's motion around the sun, a complete moon cycle (New Moon to New Moon) appears to earthbound observers to take a couple of days longer: 29.5305882 days to be exact. This number is called the synodic period or "lunation", and is relative to the sun.

The sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes through the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us, a bright, round disk. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon. The edge of the shadow (the terminator) is always curved, being an oblique view of a circle, giving the moon its familiar crescent shape.

Answer 2

You are probably aware that the moon does not literally change its physical shape. The changes we observe over the course of a lunar cycle are the result of the fact that the moon is orbiting around the earth, in a plane that is not the same as but is reasonably close to earth's orbital plane. As a result, we get to see the moon from different angles as the moon relates to the sun. When we observe a full moon, the sun is 'behind' us, and the moon is ahead; we are between the moon and the sun. At the time of the new moon, the moon is between us and the sun. At different angles, we are looking at the other phases of the moon between new-full, and between full-new. The shadow of the earth has nothing to do with the ordinary phases of the moon; earth's shadow only come into play at the time of a lunar eclipse (always at full moon).

Answer 3

The moon rotates, and there's a dark side of the moon, and a light side of the moon. Every night, we see a different part of a side. It is not the actual shape of the moon that changes, but what part we can see.

Answer 4

i was just wondering why the moon changes shape. sometimes its a half moon sometimes its full some times is quarter etc.The Moon is always the same shape, roughly a sphere (like a ball).

Since the Moon is lit by the Sun, it is half in darkness and half in light. You can see the bright half, but not usually the dark half; so it looks like the shape changes, but it really doesn't.The moon is always the same shape but -- sometimes you see the shadow of the earth on it's surface and it appears to be half, or quarther etc. During an eclipse you see the shadow of the moon on the earth which is visa versa.

The shadow of the Earth on the moon is the shape changes that you can observe. Since it takes approximately 28 days for the moon to revolve the Earth, you see these changes quite often.. Hope this helps. Will.

Jeez - ignore anyone who thinks the phases of the moon are anything to do with the Earth's shadow - that is garbage, but so many people think it.

There are two reasons it seems to change shape:

1. The sun can only shine on one half of the moon at a time.

2. The changing angle between Earth/Moon/Sun duiring the moon's 28 day orbit around the Earth, means that we see varying amounts of that illuminated half - sometimes we see it face on (full moon), sometimes we can't see it at all (sun behind moon - new moon), and in between times we see varying amounts of the illluminated part.

as the moon orbit,s the earth...it change,s position,s.......while you don,t.......therefore you see the side of the moon in it,s daylight position........which will change throughout it,s orbit.....in relation to you of course

You need to watch the sky more often. It's not a difficult concept, except for those who only bother to look in the sky a couple times a year.

Answer 5

The moon appears to change shape every day. If you wait about a month, it

appears to return to the same shape that it has today.

Half of the moon is always lit up by the sun (same as on Earth). Since the moon

is sailing around the Earth in its orbit, the amount of the lit-up half that we're

able to see from here keeps changing.

Answer 6

Its own shadow.

1-Stand in a dark room with one lamp, and hold a Baseball or orange in your hand.

2-Hold the ball/fruit at arm's length, and between you & the lamp.

3-Slowly start to turn away from the lamp.

4-Note how the high-lighted region & the shadow region changes depending on the relative position of the ball / orange from the lamp.

In this exercise, you are the earth, the ball/fruit is the moon and the lamp is the sun.

Enjoy!

Answer 7

A month is roughly the same length of time that the moon takes to go through one cycle of all it's phases and return in the same spot again relative to the background stars. A month is slightly longer than the time taken for the moon to complete one orbit of earth, the difference being due to the earths progression around the sun in that time - the moon has to orbit a little longer to appear in the same place.

Answer 8

Long ago, the "month" was the cycle of the Moon. In the Hebrew and Islamic calendars, it still is; the new moon is the first day of the month.

But in the civil or Gregorian calendar that most societies use, there really isn't any correlation between the months and the lunar cycles.

Answer 9

it changes as light sun shines the moon and make it visible causing it to change

Answer 10

the phases of the moon are created when the sun relfects light on the moon and shines on earth