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The moon orbits (revolves
around) the Earth every 29.5 days. It also rotates on its
axis. The speed of the revolution and rotation is the same,
resulting in the same side of the moon, the near side, always
facing the Earth. The far side, therefore, always faces out
towards space.
The moon does not have light
of it’s own. It gets it’s light from the sun. Half of the
moon is illuminated at all times. We, however, do not always
see the full half of the moon that is illuminated. As the moon
orbits the Earth, it’s position in relation to the sun also
changes. These changes are referred to as phases.
Many students believe that
the moon is always opposite from the sun. When in fact, the
moon can also be seen during the daytime. This is due to the
changing angular relationship of the Earth, moon and sun.
The moon is approximately
1/4 the size of the Earth. It also has 1/6 the gravity of the
earth.
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