Observe Moon Changes

The Moon travels around Earth, and it takes about 29.5 days to go through all of its phases. As it travels around Earth, we see different amounts of the sunlit side of the Moon. This gives us the appearance of the Moon "changing shape" — we call these changes the phases of the Moon. The Moon does not produce its own light; it reflects sunlight.

The 8 Moon Phases (in order)

1. New Moon — the Moon is not visible; dark side faces Earth.
2. Waxing Crescent — a thin sliver of light appears on the right.
3. First Quarter — the right half of the Moon is lit.
4. Waxing Gibbous — more than half is lit, growing toward full.
5. Full Moon — the entire face of the Moon is lit.
6. Waning Gibbous — more than half is lit, but shrinking.
7. Last Quarter — the left half of the Moon is lit.
8. Waning Crescent — a thin sliver remains on the left.

Waxing and Waning

• Waxing — the lit area is growing (getting bigger).
• Waning — the lit area is shrinking (getting smaller).