What are the phases of the moon?

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Anyone who has looked at the sky twice at night should have noticed that the moon does not always look the same. Sometimes it is round, sometimes sickle-shaped and sometimes invisible. But what are the phases of the moon and how does it come about that the moon changes its shape?

The moon has always fascinated people.
The moon has always fascinated people.

Moon phases are due to the orbit of the earth

  • Basically, a distinction is made between four different phases of the moon. Most people are basically fascinated by the full moon. This becomes the waning moon (called the last quarter), until finally no moon can be seen for one night. One speaks now of the new moon. This becomes the waxing moon (first quarter) until it becomes a full moon again, etc.
  • Of course, the moon never really changes its shape. He always remains a more or less spherical rock.
  • The fact that we can see the moon at all is because it reflects sunlight; it is not itself luminous. But it is precisely with this reflection that the different phases of the moon are related.
  • The moon orbits the earth counterclockwise. He needs just under a month (29.5 days) to circumnavigate it. Depending on where it is on its path, it will turn to you more or less from its sunlit side. These differences in position explain the different phases of the moon.

Do not confuse a new moon with an eclipse

  • Even when there is a new moon, half the moon is illuminated by the sun. We just cannot perceive this because the moon is so positioned between the earth and the sun that only its dark side is visible from the earth. This phenomenon is to be distinguished from a real lunar eclipse.
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  • In a lunar eclipse, the sun, earth and moon are arranged in such a way that the moon lies exactly in the shadow of the earth. So it is not lit by the sun at all for a moment, but is actually dark. In contrast to solar eclipses, the eclipses of the moon are relatively frequent, so that several corresponding phenomena can occur within a year.

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