page_title: Lunar phase
section_title: Phases of the Moon
hierarchical_section_title: Lunar phase / Phases of the Moon
caption_attribution_description: The relation of the phases of the Moon with its revolution around Earth. The sizes of Earth and Moon, and their distance you see here are far from real. On this image the following are also depicted: the synchronous rotation of the Moon, the motion of the Earth around the common center of mass, the difference between the sidereal and synodical month (green mark), the Earth's axial tilt. (NOTE: the precise moment of a New Moon take place in daylight when you can see only the bright Sun.)
context_page_description: The lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually change over the period of a synodic month, as the orbital positions of the Moon around Earth and of Earth around the Sun shift.
  The Moon's rotation is tidally locked by Earth's gravity; therefore, most of the same lunar side always faces Earth. This near side is variously sunlit, depending on the position of the Moon in its orbit. Thus, the sunlit portion of this face can vary from 0% to 100%. The lunar terminator is the boundary between the illuminated and darkened hemispheres.
  Each of the four "intermediate" lunar phases is around 7.4 days, but this varies slightly due to the elliptical shape of the Moon's orbit. Aside from some craters near the lunar poles, such as Shoemaker, all parts of the Moon see around 13.77 days of daylight, followed by 13.77 days of "night".
context_section_description: There are four principal lunar phases: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter (also known as third or final quarter), when the Moon's ecliptic longitude is at an angle to the Sun (as viewed from Earth) of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°, respectively. Each of these phases appear at slightly different times at different locations on Earth. During the intervals between principal phases are intermediate phases, during which the Moon's apparent shape is either crescent or gibbous. The intermediate phases last one-quarter of a synodic month, or 7.38 days, on average. 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 longest duration between full moon to new moon (or new moon to full moon) lasts about 15 days and 14.5 hours, while the shortest duration between full moon to new moon (or new moon to full moon) lasts only about 13 days and 22.5 hours.
  New Moon appears higher on summer solstice than on winter solstice.
  First Quarter Moon appears higher on spring equinox than on autumnal (fall) equinox.
  Full Moon appears higher on winter solstice than on summer solstice.
  Last Quarter Moon appears higher on autumnal (fall) equinox than on spring equinox.
  Waxing Crescent Moon appears higher on mid-spring (May 5 in the Northern Hemisphere or November 7 in the Southern Hemisphere) than on mid-autumn (November 7 in the Northern Hemisphere or May 5 in the Southern Hemisphere).
  Waxing Gibbous Moon appears higher on mid-winter (February 4 in the Northern Hemisphere or August 7 in the Southern Hemisphere) than on mid-summer (August 7 in the Northern Hemisphere or February 4 in the Southern Hemisphere).
  Waning Gibbous Moon appears higher on mid-autumn (November 7 in the Northern Hemisphere or May 5 in the Southern Hemisphere) than on mid-spring (May 5 in the Northern Hemisphere or November 7 in the Southern Hemisphere).
  Waning Crescent Moon appears higher on mid-summer (August 7 in the Northern Hemisphere or February 4 in the Southern Hemisphere) than on mid-winter (February 4 in the Northern Hemisphere or August 7 in the Southern Hemisphere).
  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).
caption: 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.
exif: {}