The phases of the moon are a consequence of its motion around Earth in relation to the geometry assumed with respect to the sun. To better understand how it works, let us, first of all ...

The next Full Moon will be the Snow Moon, which occurs at 8:53 a.m ... traditional names. (All times Eastern; * denotes a Super Moon.) The images below show the day-by-day phases of the Moon ...

This means we see the Moon’s phases from Earth as different shapes ... the Moon is facing away from Earth so we cannot see it at all – this is a new Moon. Image caption, As the Moon moves ...

The phases exist because of how the moon orbits Earth. "Sunlight illuminates half the Earth and half the moon at all times," NASA says in an explainer. "But as the moon orbits around the Earth ...