What makes half moon

Why is there a border between light and dark on the Moon? The Moon does not make its own light; the sun illuminates the Moon. The Moon is unique in that it is the only spherical satellite orbiting a terrestrial planet. Another distinct property the Moon possesses lies in its size compared to the Earth. In relation to its own size, no other planet has a moon as large.

Remember that the moon revolves around the Earth. As the moon goes around the Earth, half of the moon is always illuminated by the Sun. Therefore, to us humans on Earth, the moon is dark, and we call this a New Moon. As the Moon then moves away from the Sun, we begin to see more of the surface illuminated. The Moon continues to wax. Once more than half of the disc is illuminated, it has a shape we call gibbous. The gibbous moon appears to grow fatter each night until we see the full sunlit face of the Moon.

We call this phase the full moon. It rises almost exactly as the Sun sets and sets just as the Sun rises the next day. The Moon has now completed one half of the lunar month. During the second half of the lunar month, the Moon grows thinner each night. We call this waning. Its shape is still gibbous at this point, but grows a little thinner each night. As it reaches the three-quarter point in its month, the Moon once again shows us one side of its disc illuminated and the other side in darkness.

However, the side that we saw dark at the first quarter phase is now the lit side. As it completes its journey and approaches new moon again, the Moon is a waning crescent.

Want another description of why the Moon has phases? You can demonstrate the phases of the Moon for yourself by using a lamp and a baseball. Place the lamp with its shade removed in one end of a darkened room. Sit in the other end of the room and hold the baseball up in front of you so that it is between your face and the lamp. Now move the ball around your head at arm's length. Mike Maze. Kat Campbell. Popular Recommended Video. Your Friday will start off with clouds and a chance of some lingering rain but the afternoon looks pretty nice!

Don't let the rain icon fool you on your weather app. Read More. Skies will be mostly cloudy this afternoon but our chance for rain is slim. By midnight we'll have a better chance but rain moves out during the AM commute tomorrow.

Here is a look at how your day is shaping up in Raleigh. It'll mainly stay dry, but a few showers are possible this afternoon. More rain arrives overnight tonight. Snow lovers take note! The higher elevations of the NC mountains may see a little snow early next week.

In West Virginia it will be several inches. It's a chilly start to the day, but it'll warm up quickly again today. Clouds move in through the day leading to a few showers by the evening.

More rain is likely after midnight tonight through early Friday More rain is likely after midnight tonight through early Friday morning. On TV we'll show you when to expect some rain and how long these showers will stick around for your On TV we'll show you when to expect some rain and how long these showers will stick around for your Friday morning commute. Did you see it? Fireball lights up Carolina skies. Video of the SpaceX launch faint, moving left and fireball bright from David Spector tonight.

The weather icons don't tell the whole story with the cold front that is on the way. Here's a little preview of what we expect Friday morning. It's much needed rain for some. See you at 11PM! It's another beautiful but toasty November day.