THE MOON PHASES
The Moon orbits the earth and takes 29.53 days to go through its cycle from one new Moon to the next. This is a lunar month. The Sun lights only one half of the Moon and the other half is in darkness. How we see the phase of the Moon is governed by the position it takes with regards to the Earth and the Sun. The diagram below shows the orbit of the Moon and the position of each phase.
1) Crescent Moon -The Moon circles to the East and after three or so days we begin to see a tiny area of the sunlit side showing as a thin delicate crescent to the right of the Moon. As the moon grows in light we call this Waxing.
2) First Quarter Moon - Over the next three and a half days the crescent grows until the right half of the disk is lit. The Moon has moved ninety degrees and has now covered the first quarter of its journey.
3) Gibbous Moon - The Moon continues to wax until three quarters of the moon is light. This we call the Gibbous Moon.
4) Full Moon - Each of the following nights the Gibbous Moon grows fatter and fatter until the moon is exactly opposite the sun and it's full disk is illuminated.
5) Disseminating Moon - We are now in the second half of the lunar cycle and this is called Waning. Three and a half days later the disk begins to lose its perfect circle of light and we have the Disseminating Moon.
6) Last Quarter Moon - After a few more days the Moon is again half-light and half dark with the lit half to the left this time. The Moon has arrived at the last quarter.
7) Balsamic Moon - And so the Moon's journey continues, less and less of the reflected light showing until it is just a thin crescent to the left side of the Moon. This is called the Balsamic Moon.
8) New or Black Moon - The Moon is in line between the Earth and the Sun. The side of the moon facing us is black and we see no Moon at all. When the lining up of Earth, Moon, Sun is exact, this causes a total eclipse of the Sun.