How do Moon phases work? We explain what happens and show how the Moon’s shape and moonrise times change over a lunar month.

00:00 New Moon (start of the lunar month)
00:47 Waxing Crescent Moon
01:17 First Quarter Moon
01:58 Full Moon
02:20 Halfway in the lunar month
02:30 Third Quarter Moon
02:51 Waning Crescent Moon
03:08 New Moon (start of a new lunar cycle)
03:19 Moon phases: Northern Hemisphere
03:30 Moon phases: Southern Hemisphere

Half of the Moon’s surface is always illuminated by sunlight. As the Moon orbits Earth, it changes how much of the lit-up side we can see. This is called a Moon phase.

Read more about Moon phases: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy...

The lunar month is divided into four primary and four intermediate (waxing and waning) Moon phases. Primary Moon phases happen at a specific moment in time, while the time between these moments are the intermediate Moon phases. The lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days, just under a calendar month.

Also, we simplified some things in the video. Find out what: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy...