17 Questions
What causes the moon to appear illuminated?
Reflection of sunlight
During which lunar phase does the moon become nearly invisible?
New moon
What happens to the moon's appearance during its lunar cycle?
It gets bigger (waxing)
At which phase does the moon appear as a crescent shape?
Waxing crescent
How long does it take for the moon to complete its journey back to the new moon phase?
~29.5 days
When is the moon's lit area half visible during its cycle?
First quarter phase
What does the term 'gibbous' mean in relation to the moon's appearance?
Convex
What phase of the Moon occurs when the entire face is visible from Earth?
Waxing Gibbous
When does the Moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
First Quarter
What phase of the moon occurs after the Waxing Gibbous phase?
Full Moon
What phase of the Moon occurs when the Moon's Sun-facing edge is shrinking to a thin sliver of light?
Waning Crescent
During which lunar phase does the moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
Third Quarter
At which phase does the Moon appear past Full but not yet at Third Quarter, with most of its face still illuminated?
Waxing Gibbous
When does the moon's illuminated portion decrease as it moves through its cycle?
Full Moon
When does the Moon appear completely illuminated by sunlight?
Full Moon
What is the phase of the moon when it is not visible from Earth?
Waxing Crescent
At which phase does the Moon's Sun-facing edge shrink to a thin sliver of light, with only a small crescent-shaped portion remaining visible?
Third Quarter
Study Notes
- The moon appears to emit light but in reality, it's the sun's light reflected off its surface.
- The moon revolves around the earth at a fixed orbit without its own light.
- When the moon is in the middle of the earth and the sun, it becomes nearly invisible due to lack of sunlight, known as the new moon.
- As the moon moves in its orbit, sunlight begins to fall on some parts of it, causing it to appear as a crescent shape in the waxing phase.
- In about a week, the moon's lit area becomes half visible during the first quarter phase.
- After the first quarter, the moon continues to orbit and the lit area becomes more than half visible, in the waxing gibbous phase.
- In about two weeks, the moon is fully illuminated during the full moon phase.
- After the full moon, the moon enters the waning stage where the lit area begins to decrease, starting with the waning gibbous phase.
- The moon returns to a crescent that's less than half full in the waning crescent phase and completes its journey back to the new moon phase in about 29.5 days.
- The moon's appearance changes from getting bigger (waxing) to smaller (waning) during its lunar cycle.
- The term "gibbous" means rounded or convex and has been used for centuries to describe the moon's appearance during the waxing gibbous phase.
Test your knowledge about the lunar cycle and the different phases of the moon, from new moon to full moon and back to new moon. Understand how the moon's appearance changes as it revolves around the earth.
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