Moon Phases - Explanations of the stages
When you look up in the sky on a clear starry night, have you ever wondered about the moon phases and why it looks different each and every night? Have you ever thought about the different names for these stages it goes through? Read more on this site.
There are eight moon phases. There is a new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, last quarter and a waning crescent.
The first of the moon phases is a new. This is when the unilluminated side is facing towards the Earth. It is not visible in this particular phase, except during a solar eclipse. The next is a waxing crescent. This is when it appears to be partly but less than half of it is illuminated by direct sunlight. The part of it that is illuminated is starting to get bigger. The next of the moon phases is a first quarter. This is where one half of it appears to be illuminated by direct sunlight. Again, the fraction of it that is illuminated is still getting bigger. A waxing gibbous is where more than one half of it, but not the entire thing, is being illuminated by direct light from the sun. Still, the fraction of it is getting bigger. A full is one of the moon phases where the illuminated side is directly facing the earth. It appears to be completely illuminated and looks like a full circle up in the sky. A waning gibbous is where it begins to get smaller and more than one half of it is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. The part that is illuminated is starting to get smaller. The last quarter of the moon phases is where one half is illuminated by direct sunlight. The illuminated part is still decreasing at this point. Finally, a waning crescent is where part of it, less than one half is illuminated by direct sunlight. The illuminated part is still getting smaller.
After the waning crescent is where there is a new one. This is where the official complete phase cycle of the 29.5 days begins. Each complete cycle of the moon phases is called a “lunation.” Because the cycle of the moon phases isn’t as long as most calendar months, the cycle usually repeats itself at the very end of the month. When two full ones occur in the same month, it is called a “Blue.”
To find pictures of the different moon phases and read more information about them, do a search on the web and click away!