Now, the moon is between Earth and the sun. Waning crescent: Less than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, and the amount is decreasing.įinally, the moon is back to its new moon starting position. The sun's light is now shining on the other half of the visible face of the moon. Last quarter: The moon has moved another quarter of the way around Earth, to the third quarter position. Waning gibbous: More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight, but the amount is decreasing. When they do, we have a lunar eclipse as Earth's shadow crosses the moon's face. The sun, Earth and the moon are aligned, but because the moon’s orbit is not exactly in the same plane as Earth’s orbit around the sun, they rarely form a perfect line. More than half of the moon's face appears to be getting sunlight.įull moon: The moon is 180 degrees away from the sun and is as close as it can be to being fully illuminated by the sun from our perspective. Waxing gibbous: The area of illumination continues to increase. See the moon phases, and the difference between a waxing and waning crescent or gibbous moon, in this infographic about the lunar cycle each month. Moon phases 2023 with times (Eastern Time) New Moon
