Phases of the Moon The daily changes in the appearance of the moon as viewed from earth. It takes about 29.5 days for the moon to orbit the Earth The sun always lights half of the moon but we see different amounts of the sunlit half as the moon orbits the Earth

Phases of the Moon Waxing Moon: The moon waxes as it changes from all dark to all light. New Moon: The moon is toward the sun and can't be seen except during an eclipse of the sun.

Phases of the Moon Waxing Crescent: The right side of the moon is visible as a thin sliver.

Phases of the Moon First Quarter: The right half of the moon is visible.

Phases of the Moon Waxing Gibbous: More than half of the right side is visible.

Phases of the Moon Full Moon: The full disk is visible.

Phases of the Moon Waning Moon: The moon wanes after the full moon, as it changes from all light to all dark. Waning Gibbous: More than half of the left side is visible.

Phases of the Moon Last Quarter: The moon is half visible on the left.

Phases of the Moon Waning Crescent: The moon is a thin crescent visible on the left.

Phases of the Moon 4 days 7 days 10 days 14 days 20 days 22 days

Lunar Eclipses When the Moon is in the Earth's shadow, the Moon is eclipsed. The moon's orbit is inclined so that at the time of the new moon it is either above or below the sun. This is why there isn't an eclipse every month

Total Eclipse of the Moon When the Moon passes into the dark part of the Earth's shadow, called the umbra, it is totally eclipsed. Penumbras: The penumbra is the lighter edge of the Earth's shadow. Umbra Penumbra

Partial Lunar Eclipse A partial lunar eclipse occurs when only part of the Moon passes through the Earth's umbra.

Penumbral Eclipse A penumbral eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth's penumbra.

Frequency of Lunar Eclipses At roughly six month intervals the full Moon lies near or inside the Earth's shadow. The Earth gets two or three lunar eclipses each year.

Solar Eclipses When the Moon covers the Sun, the Sun is eclipsed. During a solar eclipse, the Moon’s shadow falls on the Earth

Total Eclipse of the Sun When a place on the Earth’s surface falls in the dark part of the Moon’s shadow, called the umbra, the Sun is totally eclipsed. Total Eclipse Partial Eclipse Penumbra Umbra

Total Eclipse of the Sun Sequence

Partial Eclipse of the Sun When a place on the Earth’s surface falls in the lighter part of the Moon’s shadow, called the penumbra, the Sun is partially eclipsed. Partial Eclipse of the Sun

Occurrences of Solar Eclipses Solar eclipses can only occur during the phase of the new moon. New Moon

Frequency of Solar Eclipses During most months, the tilt of the Moon's orbit insures that the Moon’s shadow passes north or south of the Earth. Though solar eclipses occur regularly, any one place has a total solar eclipse only about every 360 years.