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12.3 The Moon
The Moon has The Moon is the natural satellite of our
served as a source planet Earth
of inspiration to There are many planets in the Solar System. Most planets have their
countless civilizations own natural satellites. The Earth has one and it is called the Moon.
textbooks nis edu kz
throughout the The Moon is a natural satellite because it revolves around our planet at
centuries and across regular time intervals. It takes about 29.5 days to rotate around the Earth.
The light of the Moon is the sunlight reflected from its surface.
the world. Why do you
think the Moon is so The movement of the Moon
important to us? And
We know the Moon moves around the Earth, and many people believe
why does moonlight it also rotates round its own axis (although some claim that it does not
appear to change spin). This is because we always see the same side of the Moon.
over time?
The Moon is a massive celestial body and therefore it has an impact
on the Earth’s movement. The Moon has a joint rotation with the Earth
around the Sun. The Earth–Moon system is often considered as a
double planet rotating round one centre of gravity.
The phases of the Moon
When observing the movement of the Moon across
the sky, you notice that the Moon changes regularly.
Sometimes it is a full disc and sometimes it appears
to be a partial disc. The reason for the changes can be
explained by its position relative to the Sun and the
Earth. This image shows the phases of the Moon.
Waxing is another way of saying growing; waning
means shrinking.
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