What causes the different shapes of the moon to occur? How does the moon orbit the Earth?
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Solution
Different phases of the moon:
The moon is a natural satellite of the Earth that we observe practically every night.
This means that the moon follows a regular path around the Earth.
Even when the moon circles around the Earth, the gravitational force between the planet and the natural satellite keeps it in its orbit.
We can only view the area of the moon that reflects sunlight towards us, thus phases of the moon occur.
The Sun illuminates half of the Moon, just as it does on the Earth, while the other half remains dark.
The phases we observe are caused by the Moon's angle with the Sun as it revolves around the Earth.
The different phases of the moon are shown in the figure below.
Explanation:
The Moon does not emit light of its own, the moonlight we see is the Sun's light reflected off the lunar surface.
The moon takes 27.3 days to complete one orbit around the Earth. The configuration of the sun, Earth, and moon in space changes as the moon revolves around Earth. For example, the moon is often between the sun and the Earth (new moon). A full moon appears when the Earth lies between the sun and the moon. The Earth, moon, and sun occasionally form a triangle.
The moon's phase is determined by its position in relation to the sun and the Earth. As the moon circles around Earth, the phases vary, and various parts of the moon's illuminated surface are visible from Earth. As a result, the moon's appearance changes from night to night from Earth's perspective.
As the Moon orbits the Earth, the Sun illuminates different parts of it, giving the impression that the Moon is changing shape.
