Phases of the Moon. The moon revolves around the Earth and rotates on its axis approximately every 29.5 days.

Phases of the Moon

The moon revolves around the Earth and rotates on its axis approximately every

29.5 days.

As the moon revolves around the Earth, we see its

shadowed portion from different angles.

When the moon is directly opposite the sun, with the

Earth in between, the moon appears full.

When the moon is between the Earth and Sun, we see

the side in shadow—it is the dark, new moon.

In between the full and new moon, there are different

phases.

The first phase after the new moon is the waxing crescent. Notice that the lighted portion

appears on the right.

After the waxing crescent, comes the first quarter phase.

It is called first quarter as the moon is ¼ of the way through its revolution around the Earth.

Next is the waxing gibbous moon.

The term waxing refers to the moon phases that occur between new and full moon—the lighted portion is increasing in size.

Now it is time for the full moon.

After the full moon, the process reverses, with the waning

gibbous moon coming first,

Then Third Quarter

And finally, Waning Crescent