Phases of the Moon

By Hannah Room 22

As the moon circles the Earth, the shape of the moon appears to

change; this is because different amounts of the illuminated part of the moon are facing us. The shape varies from a full moon (when the Earth is between the sun and the moon) to a new moon (when the moon is between the sun and the

Earth).

BLUE MOONWhen two full moons occur in a single month, the second full moon is called

a "Blue Moon."

CRESCENT MOONA crescent moon is part way between a

half moon and a new moon, or between a new moon and a half moon.

FULL MOONA full moon appears as an entire circle

in the sky.

GIBBOUS MOONA gibbous moon is between a full moon and a half moon, or between a half moon

and a full moon

HALF MOONA half moon looks like half a circle. It is sometimes called a quarter moon (this Moon has completed one quarter of an

orbit around the Earth from either the full or new position and one quarter of the moon's surface is visible from Earth).

NEW MOONThe new moon is the phase of the

moon when the moon is not visible from Earth, because the

side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun.

Moonrise from Earth: The moon rises and sets every day, appearing on

the horizon just like the sun. The time depends on the phase of the moon. It rises about 30 to 70

minutes later each day than the previous day, so the moon is out during daytime as often is it's out at night. At the time of the new moon, the moon rises at about the same time the sun rises, and it

sets at about the same time the sun sets. Eventually, the moon rises so late at night that it's

actually rising around sunrise, and it's setting around sunset. That's when it's a new moon once

again.