Moon Phases
By: Braxton Brooks
First Quarter Moon
The first quarter moon phase is a waxing stage of the moon where from earth the visibility is about half of the moon. It is the moon phase after the waxing crescent
Third Quarter Moon
The third quarter moon phase is a waning stage of the moon where from earth you can visibly see about half the moon. This is the moon phase after the waning gibbous
Compare/Contrast First Quarter-Third Quarter
- the first quarter is the phase before the full moon and the third quarter is the phase before a new moon
- at first quarter, we see the western part of the moons face (western as viewed from earth).
- the third quarter shows the eastern half (as viewed from earth)
- at first quarter, the illuminated area of the moon is growing or "waxing." Each night it gets larger, until a week later the moon is full.
- at third quarter it is getting smaller night by night, or "waning," until at new moon it has shrunk to nothing.
Astronaut view vs Our View
We see the third and first quarter differently than an astronaut at the i.s.s. because of our point of views and where the moon is at compared to the earth and sun. They could be seeing the western face while were seeing the eastern face of the moon, or vice versa. Many things factor into how we see the moon differently than other people around the world and space.