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When we look up at the Moon, we don’t always see the same amount of its surface being lit up. This apparent change in the shape of the Moon is known as its phase.

The phases of the Moon are caused by the relative positions of the Moon, Sun and Earth. If you look at the Moon during different days of the month, then you might notice that the moon looks a little different every day.

The moon produces no visible light of its own, we can only see the parts of the Moon that are lit up by other objects. A small amount of light comes from distant stars and the reflection of light from the Earth known as Earth shine.

If the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun in its orbit, then the back side of the Moon is being lit up and the side facing the Earth is in darkness. This is called a new Moon. If the Moon is on the other side of the Earth compared to the Sun, then the near side of the Moon will be fully lit up: a full Moon.

The eight phases of the Moon in order are:

new Moon

waxing crescent Moon

first quarter Moon

waxing gibbous Moon

full Moon

waning gibbous Moon

last quarter Moon

waning crescent Moon

The Moon’s phases and the months of the year are inextricably linked. It takes the Moon about 29.5 days to go through all of its phases, meaning that each month has on average one full moon. This figure is not the same as the time it takes the Moon to orbit Earth that’s 27.3 days.

The phases of the Moon are easy to understand once you realize and remember that the phases are dependent upon the location of the Sun, Moon, and Earth. The phases occur because the sun lights different parts of the Moon as the Moon revolves around the Earth. That means the reason we see different phases of the Moon here on Earth is that we only see the parts of the Moon that are being lit up by the Sun.