Podcast
Questions and Answers
What causes the moon to appear illuminated?
What causes the moon to appear illuminated?
During which lunar phase does the moon become nearly invisible?
During which lunar phase does the moon become nearly invisible?
What happens to the moon's appearance during its lunar cycle?
What happens to the moon's appearance during its lunar cycle?
At which phase does the moon appear as a crescent shape?
At which phase does the moon appear as a crescent shape?
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How long does it take for the moon to complete its journey back to the new moon phase?
How long does it take for the moon to complete its journey back to the new moon phase?
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When is the moon's lit area half visible during its cycle?
When is the moon's lit area half visible during its cycle?
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What does the term 'gibbous' mean in relation to the moon's appearance?
What does the term 'gibbous' mean in relation to the moon's appearance?
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What phase of the Moon occurs when the entire face is visible from Earth?
What phase of the Moon occurs when the entire face is visible from Earth?
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When does the Moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
When does the Moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
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What phase of the moon occurs after the Waxing Gibbous phase?
What phase of the moon occurs after the Waxing Gibbous phase?
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What phase of the Moon occurs when the Moon's Sun-facing edge is shrinking to a thin sliver of light?
What phase of the Moon occurs when the Moon's Sun-facing edge is shrinking to a thin sliver of light?
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During which lunar phase does the moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
During which lunar phase does the moon appear as a half-circle with half of its near side illuminated?
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At which phase does the Moon appear past Full but not yet at Third Quarter, with most of its face still illuminated?
At which phase does the Moon appear past Full but not yet at Third Quarter, with most of its face still illuminated?
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When does the moon's illuminated portion decrease as it moves through its cycle?
When does the moon's illuminated portion decrease as it moves through its cycle?
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When does the Moon appear completely illuminated by sunlight?
When does the Moon appear completely illuminated by sunlight?
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What is the phase of the moon when it is not visible from Earth?
What is the phase of the moon when it is not visible from Earth?
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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?
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?
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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.
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Description
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.
