![]() ![]() (Image credit: NASA)Īs the Moon continues its orbit around the Earth, it once again reaches a point where it appears half-visible in the sky. It rises some time in the evening and can be seen until just after sunrise. ![]() Here, the Moon’s hump is now located on the opposite side of what it was before. (Image credit: NASA)Īfter the Moon reaches its peak size, it moves into a waning gibbous phase. This allows the Sun to cast all of its light on the side of the Moon we all know.Ī full Moon does the exact opposite that the Sun does, rising at sunset and shines brightly throughout the night. Now, the Earth is located on a slightly different plane between the Earth and the Sun. (Image credit: NASA)Īs you can probably guess, the Moon appears at its full size to us on Earth. The away-facing side of the Moon is now almost entirely dark.Ī gibbous Moon will continue to appear larger in the sky over the course of a week and will rise in the afternoon, later with each passing day. The hump that the Moon now features as it approaches its fullest is the reason it’s referred to as a gibbous Moon.Īt the gibbous phase, a majority of the Earth-facing side of the Moon is now visible. ![]() Once past the quarter moon phase, it develops a bulge as the Sun moves further across its surface over the next seven days. It will be highest in the sky at sunset and will finally reach the horizon around midnight. This phase is coined a quarter Moon because, in actuality, we on Earth are seeing precisely one-quarter of its surface.Ī first-quarter Moon will rise around noon and will follow the Sun across the sky. (Image credit: NASA)Īs the Moon continues to get more prominent in the sky, it eventually reaches a point where we can see exactly half of its Earth-facing side. This phase spans the time it takes for a new Moon to become a quarter Moon. It will rise shortly after the Sun and set shortly after the Sun does. Most of the Sun’s light is still shining on the away-facing side of the Moon that we can never see.Ī waxing crescent Moon is seen following closely behind the Sun as it moves across the sky. During this phase, the Moon is starting to get larger, but still only a sliver of the Moon is visible as it moves out from being between the Earth and Sun. Other than a full Moon, a Crescent Moon is perhaps what most people picture when they think about the Moon. Waxing Crescent Moon Waxing Crescent Moon. This means only the part of the Moon that faces away from Earth receives any light. Although not quite on the same plane, the Moon is situated between the Earth and the Sun. (Image credit: NASA)ĭuring a new Moon, we on Earth are unable to see the Moon at all. What Are the Phases of the Moon? New Moon By the modern definition, New Moon occurs when the Moon and Sun are at the same geocentric ecliptic longitude. If you want to know whether it is currently a waxing or waning moon, check out this great resource from : Today’s Moon Phase. Once at its fullest, the Moon will shrink from left to right until it disappears completely. ![]() There, the Sun will first appear on the left side of the lunar surface and get bigger from there. It’s important to note that the exact opposite happens if you are in the Southern Hemisphere. This means a Moon lit on the right side is waxing (or getting bigger), and a Moon lit on the left side is waning (getting smaller). How can you tell if the Moon is waxing or waning?Īs the Moon orbits the Earth in the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight gradually moves across the lunar surface from right to left. If the Moon is getting smaller, we call it a waning Moon. If the Moon is getting larger, we call it a waxing Moon. These fancy terms simply refer to whether the Moon appears to be getting larger or smaller in the sky. When we describe the Moon’s phases, we talk about them either waxing or waning. As the sunlight hits the Moon in different areas over those 28 days, it appears to take on different shapes. The part of the Moon we see is from sunlight that hits the Moon’s surface and is reflected to us on Earth. (Image credit: “moon-in-phases” by Spirit-Fire on Flickr CC BY 2.0) Of course, the Moon isn’t actually disappearing and reappearing. Why Does the Moon Appear to Change Shape?Īs the Moon revolves around our Earth over the course of roughly 28 days, it goes through a total of eight different phases. With origins in Latin, gibbous refers to a convex, humped, or bulging shape. 4) Conclusion What Does the Word Gibbous Mean?Īs we study the Moon and how it appears to us in the sky, taking a look at the word “gibbous” will offer us a clue as to how it applies to the Moon. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |