Moon Key Terms

Crater – a bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on the surface of a planet or the moon caused by the impact of a meteorite

Crescent Moon – a phase of the moon when less than half the visible portion is illuminated

Full Moon – a phase of the moon when the entire visible portion is illuminated

Gibbous Moon – a phase of the moon when over half the visible portion is illuminated

Lunar Eclipse – when the moon appears darkened because it passes into the shadow of the earth

Maria – basaltic flood plains on the moon’s surface due to lava flow

Neep Tide – a less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarter of the moon’s phases

New Moon – a phase of the moon when there is no visible illuminated surface

Quarter Moon – a phase of the moon when exactly half the visible surface is illuminated

Ray – visible streaks on the surface of the moon that radiate away from craters

Regolith – the layer of dust and rock covering the surface of the moon

Solar Eclipse – when the moon blocks the sun

Spring Tide – an above average tide that occurs when the moon is new or full

Synchronous Rotation – when the period of rotation around a planet is equal to the object’s rotation around its own axis

Tide – the alternate rising and falling of the sea twice approximately every 23 hours

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