How to Watch the Phases of the Moon

What is a Phase?

• The moon orbits around the earth, and half the moon is always lit up. From earth, we see the bright parts of the moon's surface at different angles. The bright part of the moon that can be seen from earth is called the phase. The different phases of the moon do not appear on the same days each month, and the cycle from new moon to new moon lasts on average 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes.

Different Phases

• Eight different phases of the moon can be recognized. The different phases of the moon are: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous second quarter and waning crescent. The dates and times for the primary phases can be found on calendars. The phases are divided into primary phases and intermediate phases. Primary phases are new moon, first quarter, full moon and last quarter. Intermediate phases are the two crescent and gibbous phases. The intermediate phases each lasts for about a week.

Growing Larger

• When the moon is in the same direction as the sun, the part that we can see from earth is dark. The moon is in between the sun and the earth. This phase is called the new moon. You can observe that the sun and the moon rise and set at about the same time. The moon is out during the day and down throughout the night, which means that it is difficult to see. The moon moves around the earth, and a sliver of the illuminated half can be seen. This is when the moon is waxing, and the phase is called the crescent moon. If you watch the moon every day, you will see that the little illuminated sliver is growing larger and larger until it is a quarter of the moon. During the waxing crescent phases, watch the moon after sunset. The first quarter moon can be see the first half of the evening.

Full Moon

• The word "waxing" means growing larger, and the moon continues to grow until it becomes full moon. The full moon rises after sunset and stays up the whole night. The phase between the first quarter and the full moon is the waxing gibbous.During the waxing gibbous, the moon can be seen throughout the night.

Waning

• After the full moon phase, less and less can be seen of the moon every day. The visible part of the moon gets smaller and smaller as the moon goes through the waning gibbous and last quarter phases . The moon is visible for less time each night. During the waning crescent moon, it is also possible to see the moon early in the morning.