- Moon phases occur constantly in the sky - even during the day when the moon is hard to see! When we discuss moon phases, we are talking about how the moon looks from Earth
1. The new moon occurs when the moon is positioned between the Earth and the Sun.The entire lit up portion of the moon is on the back side of the moon - the half we cannot see.
2. The full moon occurs when the Earth is positioned between the Sun and the moon. The entire lit up portion of the moon is visible to us on Earth.
3. The half moon, also known as first and third quarter moons, occurs when the moon is at a 90 degree angle in relation to the Earth and the Sun. From Earth we see half the moon lit up and half the moon in shadow.
4. Crescent moon refers to when the moon is less than half lit up.
5. Gibbous refers to when the moon is more than half lit up.
