As the moon orbits the Earth, you see the light on its sun-facing side from different angles. A full moon is when the entire face is lit at night, appearing like a circle. A half moon is half a circle. A new moon is not visible at night, but may appear as a full circle during the daytime--it is overhead around noon. There are also the crescent moon, when less than half is lit, and the gibbous moon, when more than half is lit but it isn't all the way full.
- Paper
- Pencil or pen
- Current calendar
- Clock, watch, or other timekeeping device
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Instructions
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1
Create a table on a piece of paper. Make three columns: one for the date, one for the time, and one for the moon phase. Make a row for each observation of the moon you want to record.
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2
Go outside to look at the moon and observe its phase: full, half, gibbous, crescent, or none (new).
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3
Write down the moon phase on your piece of paper. In the same row, write down the date and time that you made the observation.
