Phases of the Moon

As the Moon orbits Earth, its changing geometry with the Sun produces its characteristic phases (New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, and Last Quarter). One orbit of the Moon with respect to the Sun has a mean duration of 29.53 days.

The collection of images below illustrate how the Moon's appearance changes each day of the lunar cycle. The number of days elapsed since the New Moon phase appears below each image. To see an enlarged view of any phase, just click on it.

2.0 Days	3.0 Days	4.0 Days	5.0 Days	6.0 Days
7.3 Days	8.4 Days	9.1 Days	10.0 Days	11.1 Days
12.1 Days	13.2 Days	14.1 Days	15.1 Days	16.2 Days
17.6 Days	18.6 Days	19.6 Days	20.6 Days	21.2 Days
22.2 Days	23.2 Days	24.2 Days	25.2 Days	26.2 Days

Many of the images above have been used to produce a series of composites at Moon Phase Mosaics.