Question

Emma is creating a model of the sun, Earth, and moon. She uses wire to keep the three objects in orbit around each other. Emma knows that Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every object in the universe attracts every other object. This attraction keeps Earth in orbit around the sun and the moon in orbit around Earth.

Explain how the alignments of the sun, moon, and Earth cause the different phases of the moon.

Answer 1

The phases of the moon are determined by its position relative to Earth and the Sun, which is influenced by the gravitational interactions between these bodies as per Newton's universal law of gravitation.

Step-by-step explanation:

The different phases of the moon are caused by the alignments of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, which result from the gravitational forces as described by Newton's law of universal gravitation. As these celestial bodies move in their orbits, we see varying portions of the moon's illuminated part, contributing to the phases ranging from new moon to full moon. The gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth on the Moon creates a dynamic interaction that, along with the relative positions of these three bodies, defines the lunar phases we observe from Earth.