Phases of the Moon

Lunar Libration

A video of lunar libration made by taking photos night after night for a month, showing a wobbleThe Moon is locked with the Earth, which means that we always see the same side of the Moon. You would think that this meant that we could only see 50% of the Moon's surface, but we can see slightly more from Earth.


Keep a Moon Diary

Have you noticed the Moon is brighter some nights than others? And it looks like the Moon changes shape? We call these changes the phases of the Moon.



A calendar for a month that has been partially filled in to show the phase of the Moon on each day.


Cosmic Yoga

Connecting with the natural world through topics like space and astronomy may help improve your mental health and wellbeing.



A boy bending to make the shape of the crescent Moon to his right and a girl with her arms outstretched mirroring the shape of the galaxy above her against a dark blue background with faint stars.


Moonsaic

You have probably seen the Moon in the sky but have you ever studied it in detail? 



Photo of school children assembling the Moonsaic


What Makes Shadows on the Moon?



A close-up view of the Moon's surface. The bottom of the image is in shadow.


The Changing Moon

You can use the Liverpool Telescope to observe features on the Moon’s surface. This is because the telescope has a field of view that shows small areas of the sky in lots of detail.



The Moon at Waning and Waxing gibbous phases.


Why Does the Moon Have Phases?

The Moon is the brightest object in the night sky when its whole face is showing. This only happens at full Moon. So why isn't it always a full Moon? 



Left-side: The Moon orbiting the Earth. Top right: Crescent Moon. Bottom right: A month from a calendar.