Moon Phases Pictures

As the Moon moves around Earth, it changes the shape that it appears to us. This is called its phase.

The Moon passes through a cycle of eight phases that repeat every 29.5 days. These phases follow one behind the other in a strict order.

New Moon

In astronomy, the new moon occurs when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. It is not normally visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse.

The Moon cycles through eight phases during its orbit of the Earth, each with a different shape and illuminated part. It starts out a New Moon, then goes through a Crescent, Quarter, Gibbous and Full.

In these moon phase pictures, each stage is represented by a colorful sliver of the Moon. These moon phase pictures are available in color clip art style, photo style and black and white line art.

First Quarter

The first quarter moon is the earliest half-moon phase that can be seen in the night sky. It rises around noon, transits the meridian at sunset and sets around midnight.

The First Quarter is the beginning of the lunar cycle and is a good time to look for meteor showers and other unusual phenomena in the night sky.

The First Quarter is one of the most popular times to take photos of the moon. This is because it looks very different from the other phases of the moon and can cast deeper shadows on the surface.

Full Moon

The full moon is one of the most beautiful moon phases. It’s a time to get out and explore, so grab your gear and go shoot some awesome moon photos!

The first step is to find out what time the moon rises and sets in your area. This can be done through online resources, such as sunrisesunsetmap, or by observing the sky.

Last Quarter

The last quarter is a lunar phase that occurs three weeks after the New Moon. During this time, we see half of the illuminated portion of the Moon’s disk.

The full Moon is the most pronounced of all phases, with 100% of the Moon’s surface illuminated. It is the highest point in the sky during its cycle.

The Moon passes through its eight phases, including the New and Full Moons, every 29.5 days. This can be confusing for people who are unfamiliar with the moon’s cycles.

Waxing Crescent

The waxing crescent is one of the moon phases that occur each month. It marks the period between the New and First Quarter major moon phases.

During this phase, the left side of the moon is illuminated more than half of the time. This part of the moon can appear to be in the shape of an alphabet D or C, depending on where you are located and what part of the moon is lighted up.

It doesn’t matter where you live on Earth, if the moon is visible at sunset, it’s waxing.

Waning Gibbous

The waning gibbous is part way between a first quarter and full moon. It is a time for spiritual people to reflect on their past lessons and prepare for the next cycle of growth.

Waxing and waning are two terms that have historically gone hand in hand. They describe the same phenomenon: a slice of reflected sunlight is visible in the moon phase pictures as the illuminated area grows, or ‘waxes’, until it reaches the full moon.

When the Moon is waxing, the sunlit, daylight part of it faces the Earth in the west. When it is waning, however, the shadowed part of the Moon faces the Earth in the east.

Third Quarter

The third quarter occurs when the Moon is half illuminated compared to the first quarter. This phase is also called a half moon because the Sun’s rays illuminate exactly 50% of the Moon’s surface.

The third phase of the Moon cycle is usually considered to be the most spectacular. However, this is not always the case.

This is because the Moon is constantly moving around the Earth. This can make it difficult to capture a sharp image of the Moon, especially if you’re using long lenses.

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