Moon Vocab
What do you call a moon outside our solar system?
Exomoon
Light from the sun travels in ______ lines.
Straight
When one hemisphere of the Earth is pointing toward the sun, it is ______ for that hemisphere.
Summer
What is it called when the Earth blocks light from reaching the moon?
A lunar eclipse.
What do you call an object, diagram, or computer program that helps us understand something by making it simpler or easier to see?
A model.
What is the moon phase that looks like less than half a circle from Earth?
Crescent moon
The word for "to supply or brighten with light" is...
Illuminate
When one hemisphere of the Earth is pointing away from the Sun, it is _______ for that hemisphere.
Winter
When a smaller portion of the illuminated moon can be seen each night, the moon is said to be...
...waning.
What do you call a rocky sphere that travels around a planet?
A moon.
What is the nearly circular path that a smaller object (like the Moon) travels around a larger object (like Earth)?
Where does the Moon's light come from?
It is illuminated by the Sun.
If it is summer for the northern hemisphere, it must be ______ for the southern hemisphere.
Winter
What order do the Sun, Earth and Moon have to be in to produce a lunar eclipse?
Sun -> Earth -> Moon
How long does it take the Moon to orbit Earth?
About one month.
What do you call the moon phase that looks like a half-circle from Earth?
Quarter moon
Which side of the moon is light?
Whichever side that is facing the sun.
When does the Moon's orbit change?
Never
Even when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in the proper order for an eclipse, one can only happen when...
...each body is exactly in line with each other.
How long does it take to see the full pattern of moon phases?
About one month?
What do you call the border between light and dark on the Moon?
Terminator
What happens when the sun is in line with the moon and the earth, in that order?
A solar eclipse.
Which part of the Earth receives the most sunlight over the course of a year?
The equator
What prevents a lunar eclipse from occurring, even when the Sun, Earth and Moon are in line with each other?
The moon's tilted orbit.
How often do lunar eclipses occur?
Two to three times per year, on average.