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Why does the moon seem to change shape?

The Moon orbits around the Earth every 29 ½ Earth days. At all times, half of the Moon is lit by the Sun. The other half of the Moon facing away from the Sun is in darkness. As the Moon orbits around the Earth we can see more and more of its lit side. This process slowly changes. These changes are called the phases of the Moon.
To make it more clear,The moon appears to change shape throughout the month because of it's movement around the Earth and the Earth's movement around the Sun. Because of this, the light of the Sun doesn't always reflect equally off the surface of the moon, giving it the appearance of growth and waning throughout the month.



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