Hobbies And Interests
New Moon
The new moon is the least visible phase of the moon. When the moon lies between the sun and Earth, blocking all reflection from the sun, it is darkened. The new moon lasts one night of the cycle. The very next night, a thin crescent becomes visible along the eastern edge of the moon. The lit crescent shape on the moon expands each night.
First Quarter Moon
After about a week of the moon appearing with a crescent shape, the moon enters the first quarter stage. Half of the moon, the eastern side, is visible. This stage is called the first quarter moon because it happens one quarter of the way through the lunar cycle, or synodic month.
Full Moon
The lit portion of the moon will continue to grow each night until the entire moon is visible; this is the full moon stage. The full moon appears approximately seven days after the first quarter moon. After the full stage, the lighted part of the moon will begin to wane. During this period when the moon appears larger than a half moon it is called the gibbous, as it returns to the half stage again.
Last Quarter Moon
Finally, one quarter of the moon becomes visible again, this time on the western side. This phase occurs in the final seven days of the lunar cycle before the cycle begins again at the new moon phase and repeats.
Sun
The sun is a constant burning star located in the center of the solar system. It does not have phases; instead light and dark on Earth is related to the rotation of the planet in relation to the sun. An eclipse of the sun and moon happens when the Earth, moon and sun align and cause shadows on the planet. This alignment happens twice during each lunar cycle--the Earth lines up between the sun and moon and later the moon lies between the sun and Earth--but not to such a degree that an eclipse occurs.