Phases of Moon

Phases of Moon is designed as an interactive simulation that enables students to explore how the relative position of Sun, Earth, and Moon produce the various phases of the moon, as seen from the Earth.

The main window displays Earth (at the center) and Moon, with a circle tracing out Moon's orbit. Sun is far to the right in this picture and therefore the right side of Earth and Moon are bright while the left sides are dark.  As the simulation runs, a separate "Moon View" window shows progressive photos of the appearance of the Moon as seen from Earth.