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nar pha
ase
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The lunar phases and

d librations in 2019 as view
wed from the Southern Hemisphere at hhourly interva
als, with
music, tittles, and supp
plemental gra
aphics

A full Moon sets behin

nd San Gorgo
onio Mountain
n (in Californiia) on a midsu
ummer's morrning.

The lunar phase orr phase of the

t Moon iss the shape of o the directly sunlit porttion of the Moon
M as
viewed ffrom Earth. The lunar phases gradu ually and cyc clically chan
nge over thee period of a synodic
month (aabout 29.53
3 days), as th
he orbital po
ositions of th
he Moon aro ound Earth aand of Earth around
the Sun shift.
The Moo on's rotation
n is tidally locked by Earrth's gravity; therefore, most
m of the ssame lunar side
always ffaces Earth. This near sides is variou
usly sunlit, depending
d on the positioon of the Mo
oon in its
orbit. Th
hus, the sunlit portion off this face caan vary fromm 0% (at neww moon) to 1100% (at fulll moon).
The lunaar terminato or is the boun ndary betwe een the illum
minated and darkened heemispheres.
Each of the four "inttermediate" lunar phase es (see below w) is aroundd 7.4 days, bbut this varie
es
slightly d
due to the elliptical shap
pe of the Mo oon's orbit. Aside
A from some
s craterss near the luunar
poles, such as Shoe emaker, all parts
p of the Moon see around
a 14.77
7 days of daaylight, follow
wed by
14.77 da ays of "nightt". (The side
e of the Moo on facing away from Earth is sometim mes called thet "dark
side of tthe Moon", although
a tha
at is a misno omer.)
 Contents

 1Phases of the Moon

o 1.1Waxing and waning
o 1.2Orientation by latitude
o 1.3Earthshine
 2Calendar
 3Calculating phase
 4Effect of parallax
 5Misconceptions
 6See also
 7Footnotes
 8References
 9Bibliography
 10External links
o 10.1General
o 10.2Educational aids

Phases of the Moon[edit]

"Waxing gibbous" redirects here. For the album, see Waxing Gibbous.

In western culture, the four principal phases of the Moon are new moon, first quarter, full moon,
and third quarter (also known as last quarter). These are the instances when the Moon's ecliptic
longitude and the Sun's ecliptic longitude differ by 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, respectively.[a] Each of
these phases occur at slightly different times when viewed from different points on Earth. During
the intervals between principal phases, the Moon's apparent shape is either crescent or gibbous.
These shapes, and the periods when the Moon shows them, are called the intermediate
phases and last one-quarter of a synodic month, or 7.38 days, on average. However, their
durations vary slightly because the Moon's orbit is rather elliptical, so the satellite's orbital
speed is not constant. The descriptor waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon's
apparent shape is thickening, from new to full moon, and waning when the shape is thinning.
The eight principal and intermediate phases are given the following names, in sequential order:

Principal and intermediate phases of the Moon 

Mid‐
Aver Aver
Northe Southe phas Northe Southe Photograph 
age  age
Moon  rn  rn  Visibil e  rn  rn  (view from 
moo moo
Phase  Hemis Hemis ity  stan Hemis Hemis Northern 
nrise  nset 
phere phere dard  phere  phere  Hemisphere) 
time  time 
   

time 
 Invisi
Disc completely 
ble 
in Sun's shadow 
New  (too 
(lit  Noon 6 am  6 pm  Not visible 
Moon close 
by earthshine onl
 

to 
y) 
Sun) 

Right  Left  Late 

side,  side,  morni
Waxing cr
0.1%– 0.1– ng to  3 pm  9 am  9 pm 
escent 
49.9%  49.9%  post‐
lit disc  lit disc  dusk 

After
Right  Left  noon 
First  side,  side,  and  Midn
6 pm  Noon 
Quarter  50% lit  50% lit  early  ight 
disc  disc  eveni
ng 

Late 
Right  Left  aftern
side,  side,  oon 
Waxing 
50.1%– 50.1%– and  9 pm  3 pm  3 am 
gibbous 
99.9%  99.9%  most 
lit disc  lit disc  of 
night 
 Su
unse
t to 
100% illu
uminated  Midn
Full Moo
on su
unris 6 pm  6 am 
disc  ight 
 

e (all 
night) 

Most 
M
Left  Right  off 
side,  side,  night 
Waningg 
99.9%– 99.9%– an
nd  3 am 9 pm  9 am 
gibbouss 
50.1%  50.1%  ea
arly 
lit disc  lit disc  morni
m
ngg 

La
ate 
Left  Right 
night 
Last  side,  side,  Midni
an
nd  6 am No
oon
Quarterr  50% lit  50% lit  ght 
morni
m
disc  disc 
ngg 
 Pre‐
Left  Right 
dawn 
side,  side, 
Waning  to 
49.9%– 49.9%– 9 am  3 am  3 pm 
crescent  early 
0.1% lit  0.1% lit 
aftern
disc  disc 
oon 

The phases of the Moon as viewed looking southward from the Northern Hemisphere. Each phase would
be rotated 180° if seen looking northward from the Southern Hemisphere. The upper part of the diagram is
not to scale, as the Moon is much farther from Earth than shown here.
A crescent Moon above Earth's horizon is featured in this 2010 photograph by an Expedition 24 crew
member.

This video provides an illustration of how the Moon passes through its phases – a product of its orbit, which
allows different parts of its surface to be illuminated by the Sun over the course of a month. The camera is
locked to the Moon as Earth rapidly rotates in the foreground.

Non-Western cultures may use a different number of lunar phases; for example,
traditional Hawaiian culture has a total of 30 phases (one per day).[1]
Waxing and waning[edit]
When the Sun and Moon are aligned on the same side of the Earth, the Moon is "new", and the
side of the Moon facing Earth is not illuminated by the Sun. As the Moon waxes (the amount of
illuminated surface as seen from Earth is increasing), the lunar phases progress through new
moon, crescent moon, first-quarter moon, gibbous moon, and full moon. The Moon is then said
to wane as it passes through the gibbous moon, third-quarter moon, crescent moon, and back to
new moon. The terms old moon and new moon are not interchangeable. The "old moon" is a
waning sliver (which eventually becomes undetectable to the naked eye) until the moment it
aligns with the Sun and begins to wax, at which point it becomes new again.[2] Half moon is often
used to mean the first- and third-quarter moons, while the term quarter refers to the extent of the
Moon's cycle around the Earth, not its shape.
When an illuminated hemisphere is viewed from a certain angle, the portion of the illuminated
area that is visible will have a two-dimensional shape as defined by the intersection of
an ellipse and circle (in which the ellipse's major axis coincides with the circle's diameter). If the
half-ellipse is convex with respect to the half-circle, then the shape will be gibbous (bulging
outwards),[3] whereas if the half-ellipse is concave with respect to the half-circle, then the shape
will be a crescent. When a crescent moon occurs, the phenomenon of earthshine may be
apparent, where the night side of the Moon dimly reflects indirect sunlight reflected from Earth.[4]
Orientation by latitude[edit]
In the Northern Hemisphere, if the left (east) side of the Moon is dark, then the bright part is
thickening, and the Moon is described as waxing (shifting toward full moon). If the right (west)
side of the Moon is dark, then the bright part is thinning, and the Moon is described as waning
(past full and shifting toward new moon). Assuming that the viewer is in the Northern
Hemisphere, the right side of the Moon is the part that is always waxing. (That is, if the right side
is dark, the Moon is becoming darker; if the right side is lit, the Moon is getting brighter.)
In the Southern Hemisphere, the Moon is observed from a perspective inverted, or rotated 180°,
to that of the Northern and to all of the images in this article, so that the opposite sides appear to
wax or wane.
Closer to the Equator, the lunar terminator will appear horizontal during the morning and evening.
Since the above descriptions of the lunar phases only apply at middle or high latitudes, observers
moving towards the tropics from northern or southern latitudes will see the Moon rotated anti-
clockwise or clockwise with respect to the images in this article.
The lunar crescent can open upward or downward, with the "horns" of the crescent pointing up or
down, respectively. When the Sun appears above the Moon in the sky, the crescent opens
downward; when the Moon is above the Sun, the crescent opens upward. The crescent Moon is
most clearly and brightly visible when the Sun is below the horizon, which implies that the Moon
must be above the Sun, and the crescent must open upward. This is therefore the orientation in
which the crescent Moon is most often seen from the tropics. The waxing and waning crescents
look very similar. The waxing crescent appears in the western sky in the evening, and the waning
crescent in the eastern sky in the morning.
Earthshine[edit]

An overexposed photograph of a crescent Moon reveals earthshine and stars.

Main article: Earthlight (astronomy)

When the Moon as seen from Earth is a thin crescent, Earth as viewed from the Moon is almost
fully lit by the Sun. Often, the dark side of the Moon is dimly illuminated by indirect sunlight
reflected from Earth, but is bright enough to be easily visible from Earth. This phenomenon is
called earthshine and sometimes picturesquely described as "the old moon in the new moon's
arms" or "the new moon in the old moon's arms".

Calendar[edit]
Main article: Lunar calendar

May–June 2005 calendar of lunar phases

The Gregorian calendar month, which is 1⁄12 of a tropical year, is about 30.44 days, while the cycle
of lunar phases (the Moon's synodic period) repeats every 29.53 days on average. Therefore, the
timing of the lunar phases shifts by an average of almost one day for each successive month.
(A lunar year lasts about 354 days.)
Photographing the Moon's phase every day for a month (starting in the evening after sunset, and
repeating roughly 24 hours and 50 minutes later, and ending in the morning before sunrise) and
arranging the series of photos on a calendar would create a composite image like the example
calendar (May 8 – June 6, 2005) shown on the left. May 20 is blank because a picture would be
taken before midnight on May 19 and the next after midnight on May 21.
Similarly, on a calendar listing moonrise or moonset times, some days will appear to be skipped.
When moonrise precedes midnight one night, the next moonrise will follow midnight on the next
night (so too with moonset). The "skipped day" is just a feature of the Moon's eastward
movement in relation to the Sun, which at most latitudes, causes the Moon to rise later each day.
The Moon follows a predictable orbit every month.

Calculating phase[edit]

A crescent Moon over Kingman, Arizona

Each of the four intermediate phases lasts approximately seven days (7.38 days on average), but
varies slightly due to lunar apogee and perigee.
The number of days counted from the time of the new moon is the Moon's "age". Each complete
cycle of phases is called a "lunation".[5]
The approximate age of the Moon, and hence the approximate phase, can be calculated for any
date by calculating the number of days since a known new moon (such as January 1, 1900 or
August 11, 1999) and reducing this modulo 29.530588853 (the length of a synodic month). The
difference between two dates can be calculated by subtracting the Julian day number of one from
that of the other, or there are simpler formulae giving (for instance) the number of days since
December 31, 1899. However, this calculation assumes a perfectly circular orbit and makes no
allowance for the time of day at which the new moon occurred and therefore may be incorrect by
several hours. (It also becomes less accurate the larger the difference between the required date
and the reference date). It is accurate enough to use in a novelty clock application showing lunar
phase, but specialist usage taking account of lunar apogee and perigee requires a more
elaborate calculation.

Effect of parallax[edit]
The Earth subtends an angle of about two degrees, when seen from the Moon. This means that
an observer on Earth who sees the Moon when it is close to the eastern horizon sees it from an
angle that is about 2 degrees different from the line of sight of an observer who sees the Moon on
the western horizon. The Moon moves about 12 degrees around its orbit per day, so, if these
observers were stationary, they would see the phases of the Moon at times that differ by about
one-sixth of a day, or 4 hours. But in reality the observers are on the surface of the rotating Earth,
so someone who sees the Moon on the eastern horizon at one moment sees it on the western
horizon about 12 hours later. This adds an oscillation to the apparent progression of the lunar
phases. They appear to occur more slowly when the Moon is high in the sky than when it is below
the horizon. The Moon appears to move jerkily, and the phases do the same. The amplitude of
this oscillation is never more than about four hours, which is a small fraction of a month. It does
not have any obvious effect on the appearance of the Moon. However, it does affect accurate
calculations of the times of lunar phases.

Misconceptions[edit]
 The lunar phase depends on the Moon's position in orbit around the Earth and the Earth's position in orbit
around the sun. This animation (not to scale) looks down on Earth from the north pole of the ecliptic.

It might be expected that once every month, when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun
during a new moon, its shadow would fall on Earth causing a solar eclipse, but this does not
happen every month. Nor is it true that during every full moon, the Earth's shadow falls on the
Moon, causing a lunar eclipse. Solar and lunar eclipses are not observed every month because
the plane of the Moon's orbit around the Earth is tilted by about 5° with respect to the plane
of Earth's orbit around the Sun (the plane of the ecliptic). Thus, when new and full moons occur,
the Moon usually lies to the north or south of a direct line through the Earth and Sun. Although
an eclipse can only occur when the Moon is either new (solar) or full (lunar), it must also be
positioned very near the intersection of Earth's orbital plane about the Sun and the Moon's orbital
plane about the Earth (that is, at one of its nodes). This happens about twice per year, and so
there are between four and seven eclipses in a calendar year. Most of these eclipses are partial;
total eclipses of the Moon or Sun are less frequent.

See also[edit]

 Solar System portal

 Blue moon
 Lunar effect
 Lunation
 Observing the Moon
 Planetary phase
 Planetshine
 Tides
 Week

Footnotes[edit]
1. ^ Strictly, the quarter phases happen when the observer–Moon–Sun angle is 90°, also known
as quadrature. This is not exactly the same as having the Sun–observer–Moon angle a right-angle,
but the difference is very slight.

References[edit]
1. ^ "Hawaiian Moon Names". Imiloa, Hilo Attractions.
2. ^ "Free Astronomy Lesson 7 - The Phases of the Moon". Synapses.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
 3. ^ Origin: 135
50–1400; Midddle English < Latin gibbōssus humped, equivalent too gibb "(a) hummp" + -
ōsus "-ous"; "Gibbous". Dictionary.com
D m.
4. ^ CNN, Leah h Asmelash and
a David Alla an. "A black moon
m is comiing on July 311. Here's whaat that
means". CNN N.
5. ^ "Phases off the Moon annd Percent off the Moon Illu
uminated". aa
a.usno.navy.m mil. Retrieved
d 2018-
02-12.

Biblio
ographyy[edit]
 Buicck, Tony; Puggh, Philip (201
11). How to PPhotograph th he Moon and Planets
P with Your Digital Camera.
C
Sprinnger. ISBN 978-1-4419-58
9 828-0.
 Kelleey, David H.; Milone, Euge ene F. (2011)). Exploring Ancient
A Skies:: A Survey off Ancient and Cultural
Astro
ronomy (2nd ed.).
e Springerr. ISBN 978-1 1-4419-7624--6.
 Kutnner, Marc L. (2003).
( Astron
nomy: A Physsical Perspec ctive. Cambriddge Universityy Press. ISBN
N 978-0-
521--52927-3.
 Lyncch, Mike. Texxas Starwatch h. Voyageur PPress. ISBN 978-1-61060-
9 -511-3.
 Nayl
ylor, John (20002). Out of the Blue: A 24--Hour Skywattcher's Guide e. Cambridge University
Presss. ISBN 978--0-521-80925 5-2.
 Rugggles, Clive L. N. (2005). Ancient
A Astron
nomy: An Enc cyclopedia off Cosmologiess and Myth. ABC-
A
CLIOO. ISBN 978--1-85109-477 7-6.

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Genera
al[edit]

 Six Millennium Catalog

C of Phases
P of th
he Moon [1]
 U.S. Naval Servvice on Mooon Phase / WWhat the Mo oon Looks Like Today (U
United States Naval
Obsservatory)
 Full Moon Names
 Current Moon Phase
P
 Thee Length of the Lunar Cy
ycle (numeriical integratiion analysis)
Educa
ational aid
ds[edit]

 Opeen Source Physics

P Lunaar Phase Mo odel
 Lunar phase sim mulator (animation)
 Starrchild: Moon
nlight Madneess Lunar Ph hases Game e
 Nammes and Ima ages of the 8 moon pha ses
 Astrrophysics Sccience Proje
ect Integratin
ng Researchh & Educatio
on: Lunar Phhases Quiz
 Lunar Phase Im mage Sets Inn High-Reso olution (1200
0x1200 pixells) at 1-Degrree Intervals
s-
View
ws of the Mo oon From 4 Sides at An y Relative Phase
P
 Fronnt/Back/Easst/West Lunaar Phase Exxplorers
 Mneemonic devicces for the Lunar
L phase es