Why does the moon change shape?
The moon does not make its own light. The sun lights it up, like a flashlight!
Pip’s answer
- The moon does not make its own light. The sun lights it up, like a flashlight!
- As the moon goes around Earth, we see different amounts of its sunny side.
- That is why it seems to grow and shrink every month, wonder-ful!
For grown-ups
The moon is always half lit by the sun. As it orbits Earth about once a month, we see different amounts of that sunlit half, from none (new moon) to all of it (full moon). These are the moon's phases, and the full cycle takes about 29.5 days.
Ask your child: Can we draw the moon every night for a week and see how it changes?
More questions kids ask
- 🌕Why doesn’t the moon fall down?
- 🌙Why does it get dark at night?
- ⭐Why do stars twinkle?
- 🚀How do rockets go to space?
- ☀️Why is the sun so hot?
- 🌖Why can we see the moon in the daytime?
Got your own why?
Hold Pip, ask anything out loud, and watch the answer come to life.
Ask Pip your own question