Skip to content
Exit presentation

Keeping Time with the Skies

Where to look for the Moon

In India, the Sun is setting. A thin crescent hangs low in the sky. Is it growing or shrinking?

At sunset, face south. The Sun is on the west edge.
Step 1 of 5
  1. At sunset, face south. The Sun is on the west edge.
  2. A crescent is close to the Sun, low in the west.
  3. A half Moon is high up in the south.
  4. A gibbous Moon is part way up in the east.
  5. A full Moon rises in the east.

New word

  • Overhead — straight above your head. At sunset, a half Moon is not overhead. It is high up in the south.

The rule

It is growing. A thin crescent low in the west after sunset is waxing.

At sunset, look for a waxing Moon. At sunrise, look for a waning Moon.

A waxing Moon is east of the Sun. So it is still up after the Sun sets. A waning Moon is west of the Sun. So it is up before the Sun rises.

At sunrise, east and west change places in the picture. A full Moon is setting in the west. A half Moon is high up in the south. A crescent is close to the Sun, in the east.

Pick a phase and a time. Find the Moon.

Loading lab…

Jump to lesson

This track

  1. 0 Start here
  2. 1 Where a day came from
  3. 2 A shadow that tells the time
  4. 3 Where a month came from
  5. 4 Where a year came from
  6. 5 They do not divide
  7. 6 A spare day every few years
  8. 7 Calendars people use
  9. 8 Where to look for the Moon
  10. 9 Satellites above us
  11. 10 Checkpoint: the Moon in the sky and satellites
  12. 11 The big picture
  13. 12 Track quiz

Other tracks