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Why does the moon appear to change shape?
Question
#59183. Asked by EdnaMode. (Sep 04 05 9:02 PM)
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yourmemory
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The moon appears to change shape when it enters a new phase. The phases change every 29.5 days, and there are eight phases the moon enters into during a cycle. The phases relate directly to where the moon is located as it revolves around the earth.
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Arpeggionist
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More accurately, the moon reflects back the sun's light, and so its shape changes along with its position relative to the sun and the Earth.
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---grouch---
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Either point of the horizon, moonrise or moonset, creates greater distortion as compared to directly overhead because the reflected light is scattered through a greater distance in the atmosphere.
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_princess_007
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The Moon orbits around the Earth every 29 ½ Earth days. At all times, half of the Moon is lit by the Sun. The other half of the Moon facing away from the Sun is in darkness. As the Moon orbits around the Earth we can see more and more of its lit side. This process slowly changes. These changes are called the phases of the Moon.
 http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/moon_phases.htm
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