See what the phases of the moon are and understand why they exist

The Earth’s only natural satellite, composed mainly of rocks and minerals and with a historical and religious role for many people, the Moon is a celestial body that attracts attention on the horizon due to its beauty and importance.

But not only that: the way it moves around the planet also arouses people’s curiosity. The phases of the Moon precisely involve its apparent change for those on Earth.

Understand what the changes of the moon are, why the lunar cycle exists and what this has to do with the sea.

What are the phases of the moon?

The Moon goes through several phases throughout a lunar cycle, which lasts approximately 29.5 days.

During this cycle, the relative position of the Moon in relation to the Earth and the Sun results in different illuminations of the Moon visible from Earth.

The surface of the celestial body is only visible precisely because it reflects incident sunlight — around 7% of it.

Moon translation

The main changes of the Moon are new, waxing, full and waning. Understand more below.

New Moon

At this stage, the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, and the illuminated part of the Moon faces the Sun, making it practically invisible from the Earth. But it is possible to observe its presence in the sky during the day.

Crescent moon

As the Moon moves away from the Sun, a thin illuminated slice begins to appear, forming a crescent. That’s why it’s called the Quarter of the Crescent Moon, as it is more visible than before.

Full moon

At this stage, the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in relation to the Earth, and its illuminated face is fully visible.

The passage of the Full Moon is the brightest phase — and when it is possible to see this celestial body completely illuminated in the night sky.

Waning Moon

As the Moon continues to “shrink in size,” only a thin illuminated slice remains visible before the Moon completely disappears from Earth’s view, restarting the cycle with a New Moon.

Intermediate phases of the moon

Although the phases of the moon are known as only four, there are actually 8, as 4 are considered intermediate. They are the waxing crescent, the gibbous crescent, the gibbous gibbous, and the gibbous crescent.

First Quarter

In this state of the Moon, half of it is illuminated and the other is in darkness. The Moon is visible as a crescent, as only this slice of the surface is visible. She is between the crescent moon and the gibbous crescent.

Gibbous crescent

The Moon continues to grow, and most of its surface is illuminated, except for a small part in the shape of a crescent. After that, it is completely full.

Gibbous waning

After maximum, the Moon enters another intermediate phase and begins to decrease in size. However, most of its surface is still illuminated, now in the form of a decreasing crescent.

Last Quarter

In this quarter of the Moon, half is illuminated and the other is in darkness, but the illuminated side is opposite the waxing quarter. After that, the moon is completely waning.

Moon phases in 2023

Phases of the Moon in 2023

According to the Astronomy Department of the Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, the moon’s passage during 2023 will be as follows:

New Moon:

  • 21 Jan 2023 – 17 53
  • 20 Feb 2023 – 04:05
  • 21 Mar 2023 – 14:23
  • 20 Apr 2023 – 01:12
  • 19 May 2023 – 12 53
  • 18 Jun 2023 – 01:37
  • 17 Jul 2023 – 15-31
  • 16 Aug 2023 – 06 38
  • 14 Sep 2023 – 22:39
  • 14 Oct 2023 – 14:55
  • 13 Nov 2023 – 06:27
  • 12 Dec 2023 – 20:32

Crescent moon:

  • 28 Jan 2023 – 12:18
  • 27 Feb 2023 – 05:05
  • 28 Mar 2023 – 23:32
  • 28 Apr 2023 – 18:19
  • 27 May 2023 – 12 22
  • 26 Jun 2023 – 04:49
  • 25 Jul 2023 – 19:06
  • 24 Aug 2023 – 06 57
  • 22 Sep 2023 – 16.31
  • 22 Oct 2023 – 00:29
  • 20 Nov 2023 – 07:49
  • 19 Dec 2023 – 15.39

Full moon:

  • 06 Jan 2023 – 20:07
  • 05 Feb 2023 – 15:28
  • 07 Mar 2023 – 09:40
  • 06 Apr 2023 – 01:34
  • 05 May 2023 – 14:34
  • 04 Jun 2023 – 00:41
  • 03 Jul 2023 – 08:38
  • 01 Aug 2023 – 15:31
  • 30 Aug 2023 – 22:35
  • 29 Sep 2023 – 06:57
  • 28 Oct 2023 – 17:24
  • 27 Nov 2023 – 06:16
  • 26 Dec 2023 – 21:33

Waning Moon:

  • 14 Jan 2023 – 23:10
  • 13 Feb 2023 – 13:00
  • 14 Mar 2023 – 23:08
  • 13 Apr 2023 – 06:11
  • 12 May 2023 – 11:28
  • 10 Jun 2023 – 16:31
  • 09 Jul 2023 – 22:47
  • 08 Aug 2023 – 07:28
  • 06 Sep 2023 – 19:21
  • 06 Oct 2023 – 10:47
  • 05 Nov 2023 – 05:36
  • 05 Dec 2023 – 02:49

But why does the moon have so many phases?

The Moon has several phases due to its orbit around the Earth and its relationship to the Sun’s position in relation to the Earth.

But there are also 5 more specific reasons why the Moon exhibits these different phases:

  • Shape of the Moon’s orbit : it follows an elliptical trajectory, that is, an oval. This means that the distance between the Moon and Earth is not constant throughout its orbit. As the Moon moves in its elliptical orbit, the amount of sunlight reaching its surface changes;
  • Relative position : The phases of the Moon are determined by the relative position of the Moon, Earth and Sun. When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, the illuminated part of the Moon faces away from the Earth, and this is what we call a New Moon. When the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, the illuminated part of the Moon faces the Earth, resulting in a Full Moon;
  • Gradual transition : As the Moon revolves around the Earth, the amount of its surface illuminated by the Sun’s light that we can see from Earth gradually changes. This creates a smooth transition between the different phases of the Moon:
  • Lighting angle : Additionally, the angle between the bodies determines how much of the Moon’s surface is illuminated. When the Moon, Earth and Sun are aligned so that they form a right angle (90 degrees), we see half of the illuminated part of the Moon, resulting in the First Quarter and Last Quarter phases;
  • Inclination of the lunar orbit : This also plays a role in varying the Moon’s phases, allowing the Moon to sometimes move above or below the imaginary line connecting the Earth and the Sun.

How does the lunar cycle work?

The lunar cycle is the period during which the Moon passes to complete a series of phases, which range from New Moon to reaching it again.

This cycle is known as the lunar month or synodic month, and has an average duration of approximately 29.5 days.

How does the lunar eclipse phenomenon occur?

lunar eclipse

The lunar eclipse phenomenon occurs when the Earth is positioned between the Sun and the Moon, partially or completely blocking the sunlight that normally illuminates the Moon.

This can only occur during the Full Moon phase — when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun.

See how the phenomenon happens:

  • Relative position : for a lunar eclipse to occur, the Moon, Earth and Sun must be aligned almost perfectly. The Earth is in the middle, with the Moon on the opposite side of the Sun;
  • Penumbra and umbra : Earth’s shadow has two parts: the penumbra and the umbra. Penumbra is an outer region where only part of the sunlight is blocked. The umbra is the innermost part, where sunlight is completely blocked. It is in the umbra that the total eclipse of the Moon occurs;
  • Entry into the shadows : At the beginning of the lunar eclipse, the Moon enters the Earth’s penumbra. At this stage, some of the sunlight that normally illuminates the Moon begins to be blocked, but is still visible in the sky;
  • Entrance to the Umbra : As the Moon continues to move in its orbit, it enters Earth’s umbra. As the Moon moves deeper into the umbra, direct light from the Sun is blocked, and the Moon begins to fall into the Earth’s shadow;
  • Total eclipse : When the Moon is completely within the Earth’s umbra, a total lunar eclipse occurs. At this point, the Moon is no longer illuminated by direct light from the Sun, but can still be visible due to light refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere scatters light, and parts of the Moon within the umbra can appear reddish, resulting in the so-called “Blood Moon.” This occurs because the light that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere is filtered, and red light is less scattered than other colors;
  • Exit from the umbra and penumbra : As the Moon continues its orbit, it leaves first the Earth’s umbra and then the Earth’s penumbra. The lunar eclipse comes to an end when the Moon completely leaves the Earth’s shadow and is once again illuminated by direct sunlight.

The phases of the moon and the movement of the tides

The relationship between the phases of the Moon and the movement of the tides is based on the gravitational influence that the Moon exerts on the Earth.

In other words, the gravitational attraction of the Moon causes the formation of tides in the Earth’s oceans.

This gravitational influence varies throughout the lunar cycle, resulting in regular high and low tides.

When the Moon is in its New Moon or Full Moon phase, it aligns with the Sun and Earth, creating a more intense combined gravitational force.

This results in high tides, known as spring tides, which occur approximately twice a month, during the New Moon and Full Moon.

In the First Quarter and Last Quarter phases, the Moon and Sun are at right angles to the Earth, which reduces the combined gravitational force on the oceans. This results in lower tides, known as neap tides.

This relationship is so strong that NASA has already warned that in 2030 there will be historic floods in the world due to the natural phenomenon of the Moon and global climate change.

Follow everything about Brazil and the world!

Source: CNN Brasil

You may also like

Whales switched to Ethereum
Top News
David

Whales switched to Ethereum

Ethereum showed himself better than most assets in a recent sale. Token tested the level of $ 4,300, but quickly