Moon Nearer to the Earth as Compared to the Sun

We can see that the moon is round. It revolves around the earth. One revolution is complete in about 28 days. The moon reflects the sunlight. It dose not have its own light. There are many mountains and valleys on the moon. These valleys look like gray spots from the earth. There is no atmosphere and water on the moon.

Many astronauts have travelled to the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first person to land on the moon. He landed there on 20th July, 1969. Edwin Adrin Jr. was the second person to land on the moon.

The moon and the sun look to be of the same size. However, the moon is much smaller than the sun. Even the earth is large than the moon. The sun and the moon appear to be of the same size as the moon is much closer to the earth than the sun.

The shapes of the moon

The moon reflects the sunlight that falls on it. Only half the moon's surface gets sunlight, just as the earth. However we do not see the entire lit surface of the moon every night. Mostly we see only a part of it. The part that is not lit appears dark.

Once in about 28 days we see the full lit surface of the moon. It is called the full moon. Full moon looks totally round. It shines very brightly. The earth lies between the sun and the moon, without blocking the surface of the moon from sunlight, on full moon light. On nights after a full moon we see less and less lit surface of the moon, the bright surface of the moon appearance to decrease. This is called the waning moon.

The waning continues till the moon is hardly seen. On this night the side of the moon facing the earth does get any sunlight. This is called the new moon. On a new moonlight the moon lies between the sun and the earth.

Thereafter, the bright surface of the moon appears to increase. This is called waxing moon.

Remember the actual size and the shape of the moon does not change. They only appear to change. The changing shapes of moon are called moon phases.

The lunar eclipse

At times earth comes between the sun and the moon. They lie in a straight line for a few minutes. When this happens the earth's shadow falls on the moon. It is called the lunar eclipse.

The earth's shadow is always rounding. Only round objects can produce round shadow. It also helps us to know that the earth is round.