Why does the Moon have phases?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question: Why does the Moon have phases?

Option 1: 'the light from the Moon is sunlight reflected off the Earth, and different parts of the Earth are lit by the Sun' This is not accurate for explaining Moon phases. The Moon's phases are determined by the portion of the Moon's sunlit side that we can see from Earth, not by sunlight reflecting off Earth in a way that changes which part of the Moon appears lit. The Earth’s illumination does not cause the Moon to show different fractions of its illuminated face.

Option 2: 'we only see a part of the lit surface of the Moon' This statement correctly describes the phenomenon. The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, and as it orbits, we view varying fractions of its half that is illuminated by the Sun. This results in the familiar sequence of new Moon, crescent, first quarter, gibbous, and full Moon.

Option 3: 'Earth's shadow falls on the Moon' This would imply lunar eclipses, which are rare events and do not account for the regular, cyclic changes in the Moon’s appearance seen each month. Eclipses are not the mechanism behind the standard Moon phase cycle.

Option 4: 'we sometimes see the far side of the Moon' The far side is not visible from Earth except in rare occasions due to spacecraft imaging. The phases are about how much of the near side's lit portion we observe, not about seeing the far side. This statement misinterprets the cause of lunar phases.

In summary, the primary driver of Moon phases is our changing perspective of the Moon’s partially illuminated face as it orbits Earth, which aligns with Option 2. The other options either misunderstand the source of illumination, rely on special events like eclipses, or confuse visibility of the far side with the regular phase cycle.

2261 ASTRON 0088 SEC1070 Quiz 3 - click here to begin

Why does the Moon have phases?

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