How the moon affects earth.

1. How the moon affects earth.

2. Motions of the moon • The moon rotates on its axis once every 27.3 days. • The moon revolves around the earth once every 27.3 days. • Therefore, a “day” and a “year” on the moon are the same length! • The same side of the moon, the near side, always faces earth. We never see the far side of the moon.

3. Phases of the moon • The different shapes of the moon that we see from earth are called its phases. • Phases are caused by the position of the earth, moon and sun and those positions change every day. • The phase of the moon we see depends on the amount of the sunlit side of the moon that faces earth. • Moon phases-moon phases code cfp 5013

4. tides • The rise and fall of oceans’ water every 12.5 hours. • Caused by the differences in how much the moon’s gravity pull on different parts of the earth. • Spring tides- greatest difference in low and high tides. Occurs when sun, moon and earth are aligned in a straight line. • Neap tides- least difference in low and high tides. Occurs when moon is at right angles to earth and sun. • Animation: http://www.sfgate.com/getoutside/1996/jun/tides.html

5. eclipses • When the shadow hits Earth or moon’s Earth’s shadow hits the moon, an eclipse occurs. • Eclipse-caused when an object in space comes between the sun and another objects, casting a shadow on that object. • Solar eclipse- occurs at the new moon phase when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, blocking the sunlight from reaching Earth. • Animation of solar eclipse: • http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/ess05/sci/ess/eiu/totaleclipse/index.html • Lunar eclipse- occurs at a full moon when Earth is directly between the moon and the sun. • Animation of a lunar eclipse: • http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es2504/es2504page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization