which of the following describes why we only see portions of the moon
The correct answer would be "D) The moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits the Earth."
The reason why we only see portions of the moon is due to its spherical shape and its rotation around the Earth. Here are the steps to understand this:
1. The moon orbits the Earth in an elliptical path. As it moves, it also rotates on its axis.
2. The moon takes about 27.3 days to complete one rotation around the Earth, which is approximately the same amount of time it takes to complete one orbit.
3. As the moon rotates, only half of it is illuminated by the sun at any given time. This is because the angle between the sun, Earth, and moon changes throughout the lunar month.
4. When we observe the moon from Earth, the parts that are illuminated by the sun appear bright and visible to us, while the parts in shadow appear dark.
5. The changing positions of the Earth, moon, and sun cause the moon to go through different phases, such as new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.
6. During a new moon, the side of the moon that faces us is in shadow, resulting in no visible illumination. During a full moon, the side of the moon that faces us is fully illuminated, and we can see the entire disk.
7. Between the new moon and full moon phases, we observe partial portions of the moon as the illuminated area shifts from left to right.
8. The specific portions of the moon that we can see depend on the moon's position in its orbit and the angle between the Earth, moon, and sun.
In summary, the changing positions of the moon, Earth, and sun, along with the moon's rotation and its spherical shape, result in us seeing only portions of the moon at different phases throughout its lunar month.
The reason we only see portions of the moon from Earth is due to a phenomenon called lunar phases, which are caused by the relative positions of the sun, the moon, and the Earth.
To understand why we see only portions of the moon, we need to know that the moon orbits the Earth. As it moves along its orbit, different amounts of its sunlit side become visible to us on Earth.
The moon does not emit light of its own. Instead, it reflects sunlight, and the portion of the moon that is illuminated by the sun can be seen from Earth. As the moon orbits around the Earth, the relative positions of the sun, the moon, and the Earth cause different portions of the moon to be illuminated.
The cycle of lunar phases starts with the new moon, during which the side of the moon facing us appears completely dark because it is not receiving sunlight. As the moon continues its orbit, a crescent shape becomes visible, and the illuminated portion gradually increases, leading to the first quarter moon. Then, as the moon further progresses in its orbit, more and more of the sunlit side becomes visible until we reach the full moon, where the entire face of the moon is illuminated. After that, the process reverses, and the amount of illuminated portion starts to decrease until we reach another new moon, and the cycle repeats.
So, the reason why we only see portions of the moon is due to the changing positions of the sun, the moon, and the Earth, resulting in different amounts of sunlight hitting the moon and becoming visible from our perspective on Earth.