ProLesson 3 of 36 min read

Why the Moon has phases

Understand how our changing view of the Moon's sunlit half, as it orbits Earth, creates the cycle from new moon to full moon and back.

The Moon's changing shape is one of the easiest things in the sky to observe, and people have used it to track time for thousands of years. Explaining it well means picturing the Sun, Earth and Moon in space at the same time. That skill helps with eclipses, tides and orbits too.

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