how long does a phase of the moon last
It takes 27 days, 7 hours, and 43 minutes for our Moon to complete one full orbit around Earth. This is called the sidereal month, and is measured by our Moon's position relative to distant âfixedâ stars. However, it takes our Moon about 29.5 days to complete one cycle of phases (from new Moon to new Moon). This is called the synodic month. The difference between the sidereal and synodic months occurs because as our Moon moves around Earth, the Earth also moves around our Sun.