When we look at the moon, the light that we see is actually the light of sun reflected by the moon. Half of the moon is always in sunlight and half is always in darkness. Even though half of moon stays lit, or illuminated, by the sun, the moon appears

Answer 1

to go through various phases as seen from Earth. This occurs because of the moon's position in relation to the Earth and the Sun. As the moon orbits the Earth, the angle between the Earth, Moon, and Sun changes, causing us to see different portions of the illuminated half of the moon.

The phases include:

1. New Moon: The moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun, so the side of the moon that is illuminated is facing away from us, making it invisible.

2. Waxing Crescent: A sliver of the illuminated part of the moon becomes visible as it moves in its orbit.

3. First Quarter: Half of the moon’s illuminated side is visible from Earth.

4. Waxing Gibbous: More than half of the moon is illuminated and visible as it approaches the full moon phase.

5. Full Moon: The entire illuminated side of the moon faces the Earth, making it fully visible.

6. Waning Gibbous: After the full moon, the illuminated portion begins to decrease.

7. Last Quarter: Again, half of the moon’s illuminated side is visible, but this time it is the opposite half compared to the first quarter.

8. Waning Crescent: A small sliver of the moon is visible as it approaches the new moon phase again.

This cyclical pattern, known as the lunar cycle, takes approximately 29.5 days to complete.