8 th Period MOON KIOSK

1. 8th PeriodMOON KIOSK Please read and take notes on the following presentation. Remember, you will have an assessment during your next class!

2. The Formation Of The Moon • The moon was formed about 4.5 billion years ago • It was formed when an object the about the size of Mars collided into earth • This theory is called the Collision Theory.

3. Characteristics Of The Moon • The moon is 3.476 kilometers in diameter. That is a little smaller than the U.S.A • Its gravity is about 1/6 as strong as Earths. • The Moon is about as dense as the earths outer layers.

4. The Moons Substance • A lot of information about the Moons material was discovered by Galileo, who invented the improved telescope in 1609 • The round pits on the moon are called Craters • The moon’s flat dark surface is called Maria. The Latin word for “seas.” • The moon has features on it including: • Craters • Highlands • Maria

5. As the Earth revolves around the Sun, the Moon revolves around the Earth. • The moon also rotates on its own axis • The moon’s day and year are the same length, 27.3 Earth days. • We always see the near side of the moon, never the far side.

6. The Moon’s orbit is like an oval or a flattened circle. • The positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun cause the phases of the Moon, eclipses, and tides.

7. Earth’s Moon • The moon does not create its own light, it is reflected from the sun • Phases: the shapes of the moon that you see from Earth • The moon goes through a whole set of phases each time it revolves around the Earth, about once a month.

8. Phases of the Moon • The phases of the moon are caused by the moon revolving around the Earth • The phases are: • First Quarter • Waxing Gibbous • Full Moon • Waning Gibbous • Third Quarter • Waning Crescent • New Moon • Waxing Crescent

9. What Else Do I Need To Know? • Just about every 29.5 days after the last new moon has occurred, the cycle is completed and you can see a new moon again • The moons phases depend on how much of the sunlit side of the moon faces the earth

10. Solar Eclipses • A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. The moon then blocks the sunlight to the earth. The earth then experiences darkness.

11. Lunar Eclipses • A Lunar eclipse occurs at a full moon when earth is directly between the sun and moon. the sun is reflecting off of the moon and the earth gets in the way. It then casts a shadow on the moon making the moon appear invisible. At this time a spring tide occurs. That is when the gravity of the sun and moon pull in the same direction. It creates the greatest difference between high and low tide

12. Tides • Tides are the rise and fall of water. • They happen every 12.5 hours (6 hours rising, 6 hours falling) • Tides occur mainly because of differences in how much the moon pulls on different parts of earth. • The combination of forces nearly in a line at the new moon of the sun, the Earth, and moon produce a tide with the greatest difference between low and high tide is the spring tide. • Twice a month, during the moons first & last quarter phases the line between Earth and the sun is at right angles between Earth and the moon, this arrangement produce a tide with the least difference between the low and high tide called the neap tide.

13. The Tide Cycle • At the point closest to the moon, the moon pulls on water at Earth’s surface more strongly than on Earth as a whole. Water flows toward this point, creating a high tide. (point A) • Farthest away from the moon, the moon pulls less strongly on the water at Earth’s surface than on Earth as a whole. Earth is pulled away from this point leaving the water behind. The water that is left behind creates another high tide. (point B) • Low tides occur between the two high tides. (points C&D) The moon is the primary tidal force.