Moon Phases Explained (Animations and Timelapse)

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/moon/phases.html 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/moon/simplifications.html