Ask anything under the sun!

Why does the moon change shape?

Well kiddo, imagine you're playing with a flashlight and a ball in a dark room. You shine the flashlight on the ball and depending on where you're standing, different parts of the ball light up, right? The same thing happens with the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon. The Sun is like your flashlight, and it's always shining light onto the Moon. But we on Earth can only see parts of the Moon that are lit up by the Sun.

The Moon isn't changing shape or playing hide-and-seek with us. It's just that we see different amounts of sunlight reflecting off it at different times. When we see a full moon, it means that we're seeing all of the side of the Moon that's lit up by the Sun. When we see a half moon or crescent moon, it means that we're only seeing part of that side.

So next time you look up at night and see a funny-shaped moon, just remember: it's not doing anything different—it’s just our perspective from Earth changing! And hey, if you ever feel like having fun with your friends during a full moon night, tell them it's actually a giant cosmic cookie in space – but don't try to eat it though!