.

1 The Phases of the Moon

(Discovering the Universe, 5th ed., §1-8)

 The Moon orbits the Earth roughly once a month.

Looking down on the Earth and Moon from above the Earth's north pole, we see that its
revolution is in the same direction as the Earth's rotation (and also the Earth's revolution
around the Sun).
 

 The Moon shines by reflected sunlight.

Therefore, at any time only one half of the Moon, the side facing the Sun, is illuminated.

The dividing circle between the light side and the dark side is called the terminator.
 

 The illuminated side of the Moon is not necessarily the half which faces the Earth.

Depending on the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, we see different
fractions of the Moon illuminated.

These are called the phases of the Moon.

 

 At new moon, we can't see any of

the illuminated half of the Moon;
at full moon we can see all of it.
 

 Halfway in between new and full

moon, we see half of the
illuminated half of the Moon, or a
quarter of the Moon.

First quarter occurs as the Moon

moves from new to full; third or
last quarter occurs as the Moon
moves from full to new.
 

 Between the new and quarter moons, only a small fraction of the Moon is illuminated; we
call this a crescent moon.

Between the quarter and full moons a larger fraction of the Moon is illuminated; we call
this a gibbous moon.
 When the Moon moves from new to full, it becomes more illuminated, and we say that it
is waxing. When it moves from full to new, it becomes less illuminated, and we say that
it is waning.
 

 On any particular night, the Moon will essentially be motionless.

As can be seen from the diagram above, a full moon must therefore rise around 6 P.M.,
be overhead at midnight, and set around 6 A.M.

A first quarter moon must rise around noon, be overhead around 6 P.M., and set around
midnight.

Crescent moons are overhead during the day, but they are generally only visible near
sunrise/sunset (both because of their small illumination and the brighter light from the
Sun).

Lunar Date the Phase

Time to Observe
Phase Occurs
New Thursday,
Moon cannot be seen at New Moon time.
Moon 12/1/05
First Thursday,
Moon can be seen middle to late afternoon in the southeast.
Quarter 12/8/05
Moon visible in the east at sunset. It is in the sky all night long. The
Full Thursday,
next few mornings on the way to school the Moon will be visible,
Moon 12/15/05
setting in the west during the morning.
Last Friday, Moon visible in the morning. At sunrise it is in the south and moves
Quarter 12/23/05 into the southwest during the morning after which it sets.

Have you ever wondered what causes the moon phases? We all know that its appearance changes
over time. But why? The good way to understand the phases of the moon is to examine an earth-
moon-sun diagram:
Diagram Explanation

The illustration may look a little complex at first, but it's easy to explain.

Sunlight is shown coming in from the right. The earth, of course, is at the center of the diagram. The
moon is shown at 8 key stages during its revolution around the earth. The dotted line from the earth
to the moon represents your line of sight when looking at the moon. To help you visualize how the
moon would appear at that point in the cycle, you can look at the larger moon image. The moon phase
name is shown alongside the image.

One important thing to notice is that exactly one half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun. Of
course that is perfectly logical, but you need to visualize it in order to understand the phases. At
certain times we see both the sunlit portion and the shadowed portion -- and that creates the various
moon phase shapes we are all familiar with. Also note that the shadowed part of the moon is invisible
to the naked eye; in the diagram above, it is only shown for clarification purposes.

So the basic explanation is that the lunar phases are created by changing angles (relative positions) of
the earth, the moon and the sun, as the moon orbits the earth.
  
4.1 The Phases of the Moon

(Discovering the Universe, 5th ed., §1-8)

 The Moon orbits the Earth roughly once a month.

Looking down on the Earth and Moon from above the Earth's north pole,
we see that its revolution is in the same direction as the Earth's rotation (and
also the Earth's revolution around the Sun).
 

 The Moon shines by reflected sunlight.

Therefore, at any time only one half of the Moon, the side facing the Sun, is
illuminated.

The dividing circle between the light side and the dark side is called the
terminator.
 

 The illuminated side of the Moon is not necessarily the half which faces the
Earth.

Depending on the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, we see
different fractions of the Moon illuminated.

These are called the phases of the Moon.

 

 At new moon, we
can't see any of the
illuminated half of
the Moon; at full
moon we can see all
of it.
 

 Halfway in between
new and full moon,
we see half of the
illuminated half of
the Moon, or a
quarter of the
Moon.

First quarter occurs as the Moon moves from new to full; third or last
 quarter occurs as the Moon moves from full to new.
 

 Between the new and quarter moons, only a small fraction of the Moon is
illuminated; we call this a crescent moon.

Between the quarter and full moons a larger fraction of the Moon is
illuminated; we call this a gibbous moon.

When the Moon moves from new to full, it becomes more illuminated, and
we say that it is waxing. When it moves from full to new, it becomes less
illuminated, and we say that it is waning.
 

 On any particular night, the Moon will essentially be motionless.

As can be seen from the diagram above, a full moon must therefore rise
around 6 P.M., be overhead at midnight, and set around 6 A.M.

A first quarter moon must rise around noon, be overhead around 6 P.M.,
and set around midnight.

Crescent moons are overhead during the day, but they are generally only
visible near sunrise/sunset (both because of their small illumination and the
brighter light from the Sun).