New Moon
This is the invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun
and the night side facing Earth. In this phase, the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the
Sun and rises and sets with the Sun. Not only is the illuminated side facing away from the Earth,
it’s also up during the day! Remember, in this phase, the Moon doesn’t usually pass directly
between Earth and the Sun, due to the inclination of the Moon’s orbit. It only passes near the
Sun from our perspective on Earth.
Waxing Crescent
This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon faces mostly away
from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to us from our planet. It grows daily as the
Moon’s orbit carries the Moon’s dayside farther into view. Every day, the Moon rises a
little bit later.
First Quarter
This is the half-moon phase, where the right half of the Moon is illuminated and visible from
Earth. It occurs when the Moon has completed about a quarter of its orbit around Earth. The
Moon rises around noon and sets around midnight during this phase.
Waxing Gibbous
Now most of the Moon’s dayside has come into view, and the Moon appears brighter in the sky.
Full Moon
This is as close as we come to seeing the Sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the
Moon (so, technically, this would be the real half moon). The Moon is opposite the Sun,
as viewed from Earth, revealing the Moon’s dayside. A full Moon rises around sunset and
sets around sunrise. The Moon will appear full for a couple of days before it moves into…
Waning Gibbous
As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the Moon now
reflects the Moon’s light. The lighted side appears to shrink, but the Moon’s orbit is
simply carrying it out of view from our perspective. The Moon rises later and later
each night.
Last Quarter
The Moon looks like it’s half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but really
you’re seeing half of the half of the Moon that’s illuminated by the Sun ― or a quarter.
A last quarter Moon, also known as a third quarter Moon, rises around midnight and sets
around noon.
Waning Crescent
The Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where its dayside directly faces the
Sun, and all that we see from our perspective is a thin curve.