The document discusses the phases of the moon and how the moon appears to change shape over the course of a month as the sun illuminates different parts of the moon. It explains that as the moon orbits Earth, we only see one side, and its appearance ranges from a new moon with no illumination to a full moon that is fully illuminated. The phases - new moon, waxing crescent, quarter moon, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter moon, and waning crescent - are defined in order according to the portion that is illuminated by the sun.

2. Phases of the Moon
0 are the different ways the moon looks during the
month. As the Moon moves in space, different parts of
it face the Sun. This means that different parts of it are
lit up. We only see one side of the moon from Earth
because it rotates so that one side is always facing us.
The moon phase takes between 27.3 days. The phases
of the moon appears to be a circular disk, which is
illuminated to some degree by direct sunlight.

3. Moon Changes
0 Waxing is when the bit of moon we can see gets
bigger every night. It waxes until it is a full moon.
0 Waning is when the moon appears to be getting
smaller every night. It wanes until it is a new moon.

4. Names of Moon Phases
1. New Moon
2. Waxing Crescent Moon
3. Quarter Moon
4. Waxing Gibbous Moon
5. Full Moon
6. Waning Gibbous Moon
7. Last Quarter Moon
8. Waning Crescent Moon

5. New Moon
0 The Moon's illuminated side is facing the Earth. The Moon is
not visible (except during a solar eclipse).The lighted side of
the Moon faces away from the Earth. This means that the
Sun, Earth, and Moon are almost in a straight line, with the
Moon in between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon that we
see looks very dark.

6. Waxing Crescent
0 he Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is increasing. This Moon can be seen
after the New Moon, but before the First Quarter Moon. The
crescent will grow larger and larger every day, until the
Moon looks like the First Quarter Moon.

7. First Quarter
0 One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct
sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated
is increasing. The right half of the Moon appears lighted and
the left side of the Moon appears dark. During the time
between the New Moon and the First Quarter Moon, the
part of the Moon that appears lighted gets larger and larger
every day, and will continue to grow until the Full Moon.

8. Waxing Gibbous
0 The Moon appears to be more than one-half but not fully
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is decreasing. This Moon can be seen
after the Full Moon, but before the Last Quarter Moon. The
amount of the Moon that we can see will grow smaller and
smaller every day. ("Waning" means decreasing, or growing
smaller.)

9. Last Quarter
0 One-half of the Moon appears to be illuminated by direct
sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's disk that is illuminated is
decreasing. Sometimes called Third Quarter. The left half of
the Moon appears lighted, and the right side of the Moon
appears dark. During the time between the Full Moon and
the Last Quarter Moon, the part of the Moon that appears
lighted gets smaller and smaller every day. It will continue to
shrink until the New Moon.

10. Waning Crescent
0 The Moon appears to be partly but less than one-half
illuminated by direct sunlight. The fraction of the Moon's
disk that is illuminated is decreasing. This Moon can be seen
after the Last Quarter Moon and before the New Moon. The
crescent will grow smaller and smaller every day, until the
Moon looks like the New Moon.