The Moon has no light of its own
It's a big grey rock. It only shines because sunlight bounces off it, like a torch shining on a football in a dark room.
Some nights it's a big round ball. Some nights it's a thin smile. Some nights it vanishes! Let's crack the case.
Every good detective needs clues. Read all three, then test them in the Moon Lab.
It's a big grey rock. It only shines because sunlight bounces off it, like a torch shining on a football in a dark room.
The side facing the Sun is bright. The other side is dark. Just like Earth has day and night, so does the Moon!
One lap takes about 29½ days, roughly a month. As it moves, we see a different amount of its bright half.
Grab the Moon and drag it around the Earth, or press Play. Watch how its shape changes in the window on the right.
Scientists call these shapes phases. Tap any one to see where the Moon is in the Lab.
Waxing means growing: more of the Moon is lit each night. Waning means shrinking. Gibbous (say "GIB-us") means more than half but not full.
In the UK, remember DOC: the Moon grows like a D, is round like an O, then shrinks like a C.
Lots of grown-ups think this, but it's not true. The dark part of the Moon is just its own night side. Earth's shadow only lands on the Moon during a lunar eclipse, which happens just a few times a year and turns the Moon a coppery red.
And the Moon never really disappears. At New Moon it's still up there, in the daytime sky close to the Sun, with its dark side pointing at us.
Ask a grown-up to help with this experiment. You'll be the Earth!
Eight questions. Get them right to collect stars. Don't worry if you get one wrong: you'll find out why.