ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Irregular moon

Okay, so you know how the moon looks like a big white circle in the sky at night, right? Well, sometimes the moon looks a little different. It can be a different shape or size, and it might not always show up at the same time every night.

That's because the moon is what we call "irregular." This just means that it doesn't follow a regular or predictable pattern the way some other things in nature do. For example, the sun rises and sets at pretty much the same time every day, but the moon can be a bit more unpredictable.

The moon's irregularity comes from a few things. First of all, the moon itself is not a perfect shape. It's actually a little lumpy and bumpy, which can affect the way it looks from Earth. Second, the moon's orbit (the path it takes as it travels around the Earth) is not a perfect circle. It's more like an oval, so sometimes the moon is closer to us and sometimes it's farther away. This can make it look bigger or smaller in the sky.

Finally, the moon can be affected by other things in space, like gravity from other planets or asteroids. These things can tug on the moon and make it move around in unexpected ways.

So, in summary, an irregular moon is just a moon that doesn't follow a simple, predictable pattern. It can look different from night to night, and there are lots of reasons why this might happen, like the moon's shape, orbit, and other factors in space.