Earth, Sun, and Moon: Cyclic Patterns of Lunar Phases, Eclipses, and the Seasons

Book excerpt: In the early seventeenth century, Galileo Galilei posited that tides were a consequence of Earth’s motion. Today we’ve achieved an accurate understanding of the ways that orbiting objects interact to create visible—and sometimes tangible—effects on Earth. Earth, Sun, and Moon: Cyclic Patterns of Lunar Phases, Eclipses, and the Seasons explains the cycles that affect our daily lives and how the major figures in astronomy used the scientific method to prove their theories about these cycles in accordance with Next Generation Science Standards.