Question

what causes the moon phases

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

The phases of the moon are caused by the changing position of the moon relative to the sun and Earth. The moon orbits around the Earth, and as it does so, different parts of the moon are illuminated by the sun's light.

When the moon is positioned between the Earth and sun, the side of the moon facing away from the Earth is fully illuminated, and we see this as a new moon. As the moon continues to orbit, more and more of the illuminated side becomes visible from Earth, causing the waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, and finally the full moon.

After the full moon, the moon starts moving towards a position where it is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. This causes the illuminated side of the moon to become less and less visible, resulting in the waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent, and finally another new moon.

The changing positions of the moon, sun, and Earth create the different phases of the moon that we observe from Earth.