Cosmos/Moon/Phases of the Moon

Phases of the Moon

moon phase animation

It takes about 29.5 days to go from one new moon to the next new moon. The Moon has "phases." That means it looks a little different to us each night. We describe how the Moon looks with terms such as "Full Moon," "First Quarter," and "New Moon".

NASA says the moon has no light of it's own, and that the light we see from it is the sun light reflecting off the surface of the moon. They also state that the moon is a sphere shaped out of the debris from a giant impact between Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia 4.51 billion years ago.

Moon Phases

Moon	Description
🌑 New Moon	We cannot see the Moon when it is a new moon.
🌒 Waxing Crescent	In the Northern Hemisphere, we see the waxing crescent phase as a thin crescent of light on the right.
🌓 First Quarter	We see the first quarter phase as a half moon.
🌔 Waxing Gibbous	The waxing gibbous phase is between a half moon and full moon. Waxing means it is getting bigger.
🌕 Full Moon	We can see the Moon completely illuminated during full moons.
🌖 Waning Gibbous	The waning gibbous phase is between a full moon and a half moon. Waning means it is getting smaller.
🌗 Third Quarter	We see the third quarter moon as a half moon, too. It is the opposite half as illuminated in the first quarter moon.
🌘 Waning Crescent	In the Northern Hemisphere, we see the waning crescent phase as a thin crescent of light on the left.

Gallery

• 
  New Moon
• 
  Waxing Crescent
• 
  First Quarter
• 
  Waxing Gibbous
• 
  Full Moon
• 
  Waning Gibbous
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  Last Quarter
• 
  Waning Crescent

Jewish Months

See also

Cosmos/Moon, Moon Memes