Introduction: The Moon

What do you notice about the moon?

When you look up at the sky at night, what do you see? Do you see the moon? Sometimes you see a full circle or a half-circle. Sometimes you may not see the moon at all. Why do you think that happens?

The moon appears to change shape each night. These are called the phases of the moon. The phases are the shapes the moon looks like as time passes. Look at the four phases—do you remember seeing any of these before?

A graphic that shows 4 phases of the moon. From left to right: new moon is a dark colored circle, first quarter the right half of the circle is lit, full moon is a fully lit circle, last quarter the left half of the circle is lit.

Do you know what phase the moon is in now? Go outside and look!