New Moon
The New Moon is visible in the daytime sky, but difficult to see (none of the lit side is facing us). The new moon is not visible in the night sky.
Rise: Sunrise | Set: Sunset
Activity: Moon watch
Observing the Moon is an excellent way to begin an interest in astronomy.
The Moon orbits the Earth about once a month. The Moon is always half lit because half of the Moon is always facing the Sun (just like the Earth). When we view the Moon from Earth, we see the half-lit Moon from different angles. We call the different ways we see the Moon, phases.
The images below show what the Moon looks like in the different phases and whether it can be seen during the daytime or night time. The direction in which to look for the Moon is also provided. The Moon rises in the east and sets in the west.
First Quarter
The First Quarter Moon is visible in the afternoon in the eastern sky and in the evening in the western sky.
Rise: Midday | Set: Midnight
Full Moon
The Full Moon is not visible in the daytime sky. It appears in the east at sunset and is visible in the night sky.
Rise: Sunset | Set: Sunrise
Last Quarter
In the Last Quarter the Moon is visible in the early morning in the eastern sky and later in the morning in the western sky.
Rise: Midnight | Set: Midday
The current phase of the Moon for Australia can be found on many websites. A Moon calendar is available online from the Calendar- Australia website.
Moon watch worksheet
Look for the Moon during the day and night. Write down the time that you see it. What part of the sky was the Moon in when you saw it? Is the location up high in the sky or low down?
- Download and print the activity:
- Colour the picture of the Moon so it looks like the view you see.
- Describe the pattern that the shadow on the Moon makes over the month?
Fun facts about the Moon
Did you know...
- You could fit 50 Moons inside the Earth!
- The Moon is drifting away from the Earth about 4cm every year.
- The Moon has no atmosphere, so if you were standing on the Moon, the sky would look black even during the day time!
- Only 12 humans have ever walked on the Moon.
- In about 10 years’ time, NASA, together with other international organisations plan to send humans to the Moon once again to build a Moon base. The Moon base will be used to send the first humans to the planet Mars!
