What will the moon look like tonight?

Have you ever looked into the night sky and see the moon and wonder why does it look different from night to night?  Well, this is the question the third graders are exploring and trying to answer in science.

The moon doesn’t make it’s own light, but reflects the light from the sun.  Every night as the moon rotates around the earth it reflects different amounts of the sun’s light.  Each night it’s a little different.  Scientists start with a new moon or no moon.  Then it slowly begins to get brighter with a small waxing crescent, to a half moon to a waxing gibbous and finally a full  moon. That’s when the whole surface of the moon is reflecting the sun’s light.  A few days later the moon’s light seems to disappear.  It called a waning gibbous. Then less light, last quarter and then a small sliver of light called a waning crescent. When the moon is no longer reflecting the sun’s light it’s back to a new moon.  Thus the cycle starts all over again.

Check out the third graders creating their own moon phases using a lamp and some styrofoam balls.