Our Moon's Phases: The Moon Window

Through the round Moon Window, Professor Luna Moon watches our Moon change shape night after night. She keeps a row of moon lamps to show each shape, called a phase.

Remember: The Moon makes no light of its own: it shines because sunlight bounces off it. As it travels around Earth, we see more or less of its sunny side: new moon → crescent → half moon → full moon, then back again. (Scientists call the half moon a quarter moon.) From one full moon to the next takes about a month.

Magic trick: Shine a torch on a ball in a dark room and walk around it: you see a thin sliver, then half, then the whole bright side. That is how the Moon works!