There are several possible explanations for the origin of this misconception of the cause of the
phases of the moon. One of the reasons may be tied to “the traditional” moon diagram. Cohen and
Lucas, (1999, p.3), argue that “The traditional moon diagram is both ubiquitous and problematic,” (p. 3).
They speculate that some confusion may arrive from this diagram, since it mixes two different views.
The authors explain that “one view is of the earth, sun and moon as seen from space, commonly shown
from above the North Pole.” In the same diagram, “…each individual moon phase,” is shown “…as it
would appear from earth,” (p. 3). They also point out that the diagram distorts both the relative sizes
and distances of the objects, (Cohen and Lucas, 1999). They argue that “the space-based view is often
vague,” and that it rarely states if the view is from the North or South Pole. It also fails to indicate “the
direction of the moon’s orbit.” (p.3). This cumbersome, two dimensional model does not clearly reflect
what is actually occurring in the dynamic system.