The different appearances of the Moon over a synodic month (about 29.5 days). The eight phases are new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent, caused by changing Sun-Moon-Earth angles.
An astronomical event when one celestial body moves into the shadow of another. Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passe...
The curved path of a celestial object around a star, planet, or moon under gravity's influence. Orbits can be circular, ...
Gravitational forces arising because gravitational pull varies across a body's extent. On Earth, the Moon and Sun cause ...
Dive deeper into moon phases and related concepts on Cosmos Observatory.