The Moon Cycle

The term "moon cycle" (or "lunar cycle") refers to the moon's continuous orbit around the earth. As the moon orbits the earth, its appearance (the "phase") changes and thus gives us an indication of the moon's progress in the cycle (the "age"). The sun always illuminates exactly one-half of the moon, but we see it at different angles as it rotates around the earth. With the naked eye, we can see only the part of the moon that the sun is illuminating. For instance, a crescent moon is what we call the moon when we see only a small portion of its illuminated surface. We give the parts of the moon cycle different names, according to how the moon appears to us. In order of appearance: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. New (also called the Dark Moon) - not visible Waxing Crescent First Quarter - commonly called a "half moon" Waxing Gibbous Full - we can see the entire illuminated portion of the moon Waning Gibbous Third Quarter also known as Last Quarter - another "half moon", but the illuminated part is opposite of the First Quarter 8. Waning Crescent 9. New - back to the beginning http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml

There are eight phases of the moon. The phases are named after how much of the moon we can see, and whether the amount visible is increasing, or decreasing each day. Here are pictures of the moon phases in order:

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