VOCABULARY in pictures

VOCABULARY - planets and satellites:

Planets, dwarf planets and plutoids orbit the Sun, satellites orbit the planets. They are represented from left to right from the Sun, based on their relative sizes.

Changes in the Moon’s appearance over the course of a month; result from the movement of the Moon in relation to the Sun, as seen from Earth.


- new moon:
The Moon lies directly between Earth and the Sun; it is not visible, as the Sun’s light is too brilliant.

- new crescent:
The Moon is visible in the early evening in the shape of a thin crescent.

- first quarter:
The visible face of the Moon grows increasingly bright; the lunar crescent gradually changes until it forms a semi-circle after one week.

- waxing gibbous:
As the Moon moves away from the Sun, its shadow gradually recedes.

- full moon:
The visible face of the Moon is completely illuminated by the Sun’s rays.

- waning gibbous:
As the Moon moves closer to the Sun, its shadow begins to obscure the Sun’s disk.

- last quarter:
The bright side gradually recedes until it becomes a half-moon.

- old crescent:
The Moon lies to the right of the Sun and appears in the sky at dawn in the form of a thin crescent.