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Moon Phases in Order. The eight Moon phases of a lunar month are divided into four primary and four intermediate (waxing and waning) Moon phases: New Moon; Waxing Crescent Moon; First Quarter Moon; Waxing Gibbous Moon; Full Moon; Waning Gibbous Moon; Third Quarter Moon; Waning Crescent Moon; Primary Moon phases happen at a specific moment in ...
Oct 4, 2017 · The outer ring shows what we see on the Earth during each corresponding part of the Moon's orbit. You can see the phase, apparent diameter and other motions of the Moon throughout the year 2018, at hourly intervals, as simulated based on images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ›
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Aug 30, 2023 · This graphic depicts the location of the Earth, Sun and Moon during the lunar phases throughout each month. Credit: Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. What are the Moon’s Phases? The Moon’s...
- Overview
- New moon
- Waxing crescent
- First quarter
- Waxing gibbous
- Full moon
- Waning gibbous
- Last quarter
- Waning crescent
- A full moon by any other name
Learn about the lunar cycle, as well as the origins of the many names given to each month's full moon.
A "worm moon" sets behind Rocca Calascio castle and village in L'Aquila, Italy.
Every month Earth's moon goes through its phases, waning and waxing in its constant transformation from new moon to full moon and back again.
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This lunar cycle happens in part because the moon does not produce its own light; the silvery glow we see comes from sunlight reflecting off the moon's monochrome surface. In addition, our view of the moon is governed by a gravitational quirk called tidal locking. In essence, it takes roughly the same amount of time for the moon to spin once on its axis as it takes for our celestial companion to complete an orbit around Earth. That means the same side of the moon always faces Earth, although both sides get illuminated as the moon orbits, so there is no perpetual dark side of the moon.
As the moon, Earth, and the sun go through their orbital dance, the part of the moon that's illuminated by sunlight moves in and out of our view, creating a predictable series of lunar phases. In any given month we see eight distinct phases of the moon, defined by how much of the lunar disk is illuminated from our perspective and whether the moon is heading toward or away from being full.
During this phase the moon is between Earth and the sun, which means none of the lunar half we see is illuminated, and the moon becomes nearly invisible in the night sky. We can see the moon in this phase only during a solar eclipse.
As the moon's illuminated surface increases, it's in a stage known as waxing, and it's a crescent as long as it's less than half full.
This is the phase when half of the moon is illuminated and the percentage of the lit surface is still increasing.
When the moon is more than half full and still increasing its illuminated surface, it's called waxing gibbous. The word “gibbous” comes from the Latin for “hump” and has been used for centuries to describe rounded or convex shapes, like swollen eyes or the back of a camel.
In this phase, the moon is behind Earth with respect to the sun, and its face is fully illuminated. This is when we can sometimes see lunar eclipses.
This is the stage when the moon is more than half lit but the illuminated surface we can see is decreasing.
During this phase, the moon is once again half illuminated, but the lit area that's visible is on the decline.
As the next new moon nears, the moon shrinks back to a crescent that's less than half full.
Left: A crescent moon shines over a pine grove in the Snake Range, Great Basin National Park, Nevada.
Photograph by KEITH LADZINSKI, Nat Geo Image Collection
Right: The moon rises over a snow-covered slope in Denali National Park, Alaska.
One of the most dramatic sights in the night sky—and inspiration for poets, artists, and lovers for millennia—full moons captivate us like nothing else. Full moons occur every 29.5 days or so, as the moon moves to the side of Earth directly opposite the sun.
For millennia, humans have used the movement of the moon to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. Ancient cultures the world over have given these full moons names based on the behavior of the plants, animals, or weather during that month.
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The moon goes through a cycle of phases each month which changes our view of the moon based on its position in relation to the Earth and the Sun. The moon phase shows the illuminated portion of the moon that is being lit by the Sun. There are a total of eight moon phases: New moon; Waxing Crescent; First quarter; Waxing Gibbous; Full moon ...
May 1, 2015 · These conditions combine to make the Moon's true cycle of phases more complex than what is shown here. Check out an accurate visualization of the current lunar phase and libration . The following images are frames from the animation representing particular phases.
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