What are the Different Phases of the Moon?

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The moon spins on its axis and also orbits the Earth. Hence, the moon sometimes passes between the sun and the Earth and sometimes the Earth gets in between the Sun and the Moon. All the while, one side of the Moon is always away from the Earth. The Moon has no light of its own, but it shines because it reflects the light of the Sun. Different amounts of sunlit on the face of the moon are visible to us as it travels around the Sun, along with the Earth. It ranges from a thin crescent to a full moon. At new moon, a slim crescent area of moon on which light falls can be seen. As it moves around the Earth, this crescent slowly increases or waxes. Then the Moon passes through first quarter and the gibbous phases to the fully illuminated one. Then the Moon begins to wane to become waning crescent and then disappears. It happens so because the side of the Moon facing us has no sunlight falling on it. The Moon then appears as a New Moon. This cycle of Moon is known as lunar month, which consists of 29.5 days.

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