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Because as it moves round the Earth, and the Earth moves round the Sun, the way it is positioned in the shadow of the sun changes how it looked. So if the moon was on one side of the Earth, and the sun was on the other, the sun would block out the moons light with its shadow.

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13y ago
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4mo ago

The changing shape of the moon, known as the lunar phases, is caused by its position relative to the earth and the sun. As the moon orbits the earth, the angle between the sun, earth, and moon changes, causing different portions of the moon to be illuminated. This changing illumination results in the different phases of the moon that we observe from earth.

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13y ago

The moon does not change shape as it orbits Earth. The reason it looks as if it is is because of the light reaching the moon in reference to its position to the sun. The position of the moon around the Earth at different times of the year only allows for light to illuminate certain areas of the moon at certain times, giving it its visible "shape".

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14y ago

The Moon doesn't really change shape. What changes is the part that is visible. The other part is dark; that is, we see part of the Moon where it would be night, for an observer on the Moon.

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Q: Why does moon change shape as it orbits the earth?
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Related questions

Why does the moon apper to change shape as it orbits the earth?

Because of the relative positions of the earth, sun and moon.


Does the Moon's shape change or does how you see it change?

What changes from days to day is the amount of sunlight we see on the moon. As the moon orbits the earth and the earth orbits the sun, the sun hits the moon at a different angle in relation to the earth.


What shape does the moon orbits the earth?

The moon orbits the earth almost a complete circle.


Does t moon really change its shape?

No, the moon does not change its shape. The moon's phases are caused by the angle at which we see the illuminated portion of the moon from Earth as it orbits around our planet.


Why does the moon appear to change shape as it orbits the earth?

Because the light from the sun reflects of the moon so when the moon orbits the sun which means you can only see the part of the moon that has light reflecting off it


Why does the shape of the moon seem to change?

The moon reflects sunlight and it orbits out planet, Earth, so we see the reflected sunlight at different angles on the moon, causing the appearance of the moon to change.


How and why the moon change it shapes?

The Moon only seems to "change shape". We only see one side of the Moon from Earth. The variation in the amount of sunlight hitting that side of the Moon, as it orbits Earth, is why we see the apparent changes in shape. These changes are called "lunar phases".


The why does moon appears to change shape as it orbits the sun?

The moon does not orbit the sun directly. The moon orbits the earth which orbits the sun (otherwise our moon would technically be called a dwarf planet).The reason the moon changes appearance when the earth orbits the sun is that a certain times the earth is partially or completely blocking the sunlight and will therefore cast a shadow onto the moon (as viewed from earth).The crescent shadow you see on the moon is actually earth's shadow.


What causes the moon Moon to seem to change shape?

The changing shape of the Moon, known as its phases, is caused by the relative positions of the Moon, Earth, and Sun. As the Moon orbits Earth, the amount of sunlight hitting its surface that is visible to us changes, creating the different phases such as the full moon, new moon, and crescent moon.


How does the moon look from day to day?

The moon appears to change shape due to its position relative to the Earth and the Sun. This change in appearance, known as the moon's phases, occurs because we see different portions of its illuminated surface as it orbits Earth. The cycle of moon's phases repeat approximately every 29.5 days.


Does the absolute positions of the moon and earth and sun change as the moon orbits the earth?

yes


What causes the moon to change it's shape?

The changing shape of the moon, known as its phases, is caused by its position relative to the Earth and the Sun. As the moon orbits the Earth, the amount of sunlight reflecting off its surface that we can see changes. This creates the different phases of the moon, such as full moon, new moon, waxing crescent, and waning gibbous.