These changes in appearance are the phases of the moon. As the moon orbits Earth, it cycles through eight distinct phases. The four primary phases of the moon (new moon, first quarter, full moon ...
Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back to our planet changes. That creates different lunar phases. The next Full Moon ...
The phases exist because of how the moon orbits Earth. "Sunlight illuminates half the Earth and half the moon at all times," NASA says in an explainer. "But as the moon orbits around the Earth ...
Earth, sun, moon: three objects in space whose interactions have a pretty big impact on our lives. Earth orbits the sun once a year, and it rotates on its axis about once a day (depending on your ...