Moon Phases and Tides
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Moon Phases and Tides
A changing view of the Moon
The Moon does not make its own light; sunlight illuminates half of it at a time. As the Moon orbits Earth, we see different amounts of that sunlit half. The familiar sequence takes about 29.5 days: new Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter (also called last quarter), waning crescent, then new Moon again. Waxing means the visible lit part is growing; waning means it is shrinking.
- New Moon
- First quarter
- Full Moon
- Third quarter
Tides at the harbour
The Moon’s gravity helps create tides. It pulls ocean water into a bulge on the side of Earth nearest the Moon; a second bulge forms on the opposite side. As Earth rotates through these bulges, many coastlines experience two high tides and two low tides in about a lunar day (roughly 24 hours 50 minutes). The Sun’s gravity also affects tides. When the Sun, Earth and Moon line up at new Moon or full Moon, their effects combine to make larger tidal ranges: spring tides. At first and third quarter, the Sun and Moon pull in different directions, making smaller tidal ranges: neap tides. Spring tides happen throughout the year, not only in spring.
- New Moon and full Moon
- First quarter and third quarter
- Waxing crescent and waning crescent
- Waxing gibbous and waning gibbous
- New Moon
- First quarter
- Full Moon
- Third quarter
- Neap tide
- Spring tide
- Spring tide
- Neap tide
- The Moon’s gravity helps pull on Earth’s oceans.
- There are ocean bulges on both the near and far sides of Earth.
- Neap tides are linked to first-quarter and third-quarter Moons.
- Spring tides occur only during the spring season.
- The Sun also affects tides.
3 printable pages
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