Phases of the moon Essay Example for Free

Phases of the slug EssayDuring night time, the laze is the clearest celestial object that could be seen any place on earth. The lunar month is considered as the closest celestial thing on earth and is the scarcely natural satellite to the earth (Freudenrich, 2008). As people noniced, the corn liquor presents changing shapes in the night sky. There are instances when one could see a full disk shape, other generation it peaks a faction of its face and sometimes it vanishes for a few days. These changes in the bright side of the mope are identified as the corn liquors phases. Such occurrence in the stargaze is non random at all rather the changes happen in a monthly basis and occurs in a predictable manner (Freudenrich, 2008). The moons phases are non the result of the earths shadow as many believe. The shadow of the earth may cause eclipses but the occurrence of the moons phases is a different case. Phases of the moon are dependent on its position in the alignment toget her with the earth and cheer thus the illuminated part in the moons face is caused by the reflection of the light from the sun (Barrow, 2008, 1).During the 29 day travel of the moon around its orbit, its position undergoes daily changes. There are times when the moon is positioned between the earth and the sun, other times it is behind the earth this is why people see the bright parts of the moons fold up in different angles (Freudenrich, 2008). The eight phases of the moon undergoes a cycle which is proceeded by the new moon. New moon also known as the dark moon could be seen whenever the sun and the moon are similarly positioned on the same side of the earth.The new moon is essentially not visible because it is situated in between the sun and the earth therefore the part which is illuminated faces directly to the sun while the other part which is lost in the suns glare is facing the earth (Barrow, 2008, 1). The second phase of the moon is identified as the wax crescent. This app ears during the second or third day. During this phase only a little part of the moon is showing up. It is characterized with a thin lunar sliver which is apparent minutes after the sun fix.Such phase is termed as waxing because every night a part of the moon becomes more visible in a longer time (The phases of our moon What can you see tonight, 2008). By the time the waxing crescent moon grows in a half full, it has therefore reached the third phase which is known as the first quarter. During this phase, half of the moon is already visible. However, its visibility inhabit during the first half of the evening and eventually goes down. It is also important to note that the first quarter moon reflect the suns light on the right hand side (The phases of our moon What can you see tonight, 2008).Waxing Gibbous moon is a phase when close to part of the moon is already visible. At this point, the moon is clearly visible to any of its observers and only a little sliver is not illuminated . The gibbous moon could be seen clearly even before the sunset and stays in the night sky until three in the morning (Barrow, 2008, 1). The entire face of the moon is apparent during the fifth phase which is the full moon. This phase takes place whenever the earth is positioned between the moon and the earth. Full moon is the only phase where the moon is burnished all throughout the night.A full moon will rise during the beginning of the night and will eventually set as morning locomote in (Barrow, 2008, 1). Just like the waxing gibbous, the lessen gibbous which is the sixth phase of the moon, shows all but a little part of the moon. However, in counterpoint with the waxing gibbous where observers are seeing much of the celestial bodys illuminated part, the waning gibbous is an indication of seeing less of the moon in the upcoming nights. This is why it was coined as waning gibbous (The phases of our moon What can you see tonight, 2008). Second to the last of the moons phase is the last quarter.Much like the first quarter, people see a half full of the moons illuminated face however the reflected light is set on the left hand corner of the moon contrary to the first quarter phase which is reflected in the right hand side (Barrow, 2008, 1). Finally the waning crescent marks the final cycle of the moons phase. During this period people would observer that only little of the moons face is visible. By the following nights only a smaller part of the moon can be seen in a lesser period. From there a new cycle will then proceed (The phases of our moon What can you see tonight, 2008).Evidently the moons phases are dependent upon the moons lining position in conformation to the sun and earth. It is also noteworthy that the sequence of the phases starts with the moons light illumination from right to left until it extends to the full moon phase. Right after the verbalise phase the illuminated area of the moon would retreat from right to left until it reaches the new moon phase which would mark another cycle. The phases of the moon are not complicated as it may appear. By learning how, when and why it occurs enables an individual to know that such event is not random but a predictable event.