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: 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: www.timeanddate.com/astronomy...

[@elisabethbishop1288]

Full moon is my 6 year old son's favorite. We came across this video when talking about moon phases, and it was awesome and enjoyable for both of us. 😊

[@farexBaby-ur8ns]

Well made and easy to understand as compared to many out there

[@RaulPerezEstrada]

Amazing explanation. Thank you so much!!

[@jazzandbluesculturalherita2547]

My favorite phase is Harvest Moon. Near the conclusion of 2004, just past Thanksgiving timeframe, I was traveling I-10/I-8 to San Diego from New Orleans. As I was cresting the Tecate Divide on I-8 near Boulevard and Live Oak Springs, CA, I looked in my rearview mirror, and very much to my amazement, a HUGE Harvest Moon seemed to completely fill & span the entire rear window of my automobile! It was uncannily large and golden, and was like the scene in "Bruce Almighty" where Bruce lassos the Moon and pulls it closer to Earth. I've never witnessed a larger or more beautiful Full Moon since!

[@aungmyatmin9509]

Great content!

[@td177]

Happy to know so much about moon in the last phase of my life. So nice. Please keep it up.

[@KalebPeters99]

This is the first video that made it properly click for me. The marker where the invisible new moon is was so helpful Thank you!

[@traviesoviejo]

And yet, it wasnt accurately accurate

[@KalebPeters99]

@@traviesoviejo Help me out then, what was incorrect/missing?

[@traviesoviejo]

@@KalebPeters99 the simplest answer is to challenge you to make these observations yourself and compare. This is too over simplified. But I might have to do my own video

[@brokenwing2384]

I love Timeanddate. The moon is my favorite stage. My official name means moon

[@manuelalejandrohernandezay8235]

Is it Selene?

[@Cascara69]

Luna

[@mikestevenson6013]

I found myself listening to the presenter's accent, and I then had to listen again to get the point. I was looking for info on Apogee and Perigee but this one was cool.

[@josuefairy]

New Moon arrived at Eclipse 🌑

[@Nathan-lo3wq]

True

[@massey4business]

Always.

[@helenahstargirlofelohim5731]

Love it.. thanks

[@scottholder4489]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@slfrd5383]

this is amazing

[@syahrilamir98]

Nice timelapsd

[@timeanddate]

Thank you!

[@P.25000]

I used your guy's website for my report. Thanks!

[@junghwanchoi7793]

This is helpful information.😊

[@dimplekhatti142]

Did anyone notice waxing and waning gibbous are not in this video

[@rexhepcikoja6793]

Me

[@aswink603]

I like the full moon

[@josuefairy]

It's an eclipse 🌑

[@dogsteeves1]

THIS HAS TAUGHT ME MORE THEN SCHOOL EVER DID IN A FEW SECONDS :P XD

[@MariaMartinez-researcher]

Thanks for remembering the Southern Hemisphere exists! 😘

[@arsalan_haque]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is an error at the very end of the video. "In the Southern Hemisphere, ... the moon travels in the other direction across the sky." That is not correct. The moon travels in the same direction in both hemispheres. It is the direction of the waxing that changes in the different hemispheres.

[@timeanddate]

Thank you for your comment! If you select the Moon on our Night Sky Map and hit the play button, you can see how the Moon moves across the sky. The direction of travel in the Southern Hemisphere - for example, www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/australia/sydney - is not the same as in the Northern Hemisphere - for example, www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/usa/new-york

[@fromnorway643]

In the southern hemisphere, the Moon and the Sun will rise in the east and set in the west, just as in the northern hemisphere. However, in the south, they will travel across the _northern_ sky rather than the southern so they will travel from right to left instead of left to right. The direction of waxing and waning _appears_ to be opposite in the south because the observers are oriented upside down relative to those in the north. In reality, the terminator (the boundary between day and night) moves in the _same_ direction and is close to the crater Copernicus about 9 days after the new Moon seen from both the northern and southern hemisphere.

[@sawyerh6838]

Your voice is so warm and comforting!

[@J8sStellarGraphics]

Favorite moon phase: waxing Gibbous due to how it is out most of the day, get to snag photos of it

[@matthewdunham2943]

The new moon is Parker's favorite moon phase because "it is scary" ! :)

[@realcalebmydog]

You CAN see all phases. The last time you could see the new moon was on 10/14/23

[@gamerboi9000......]

The annular solar eclipse

[@matthewdunham2943]

My students are fighting and can't pick their favorite moon phase !!

[@patriciagriswold6798]

Yes !!!

[@LillianKüstenfeuer]

👏👏👏

[@timeanddate]

Thank you!

[@muhammadridho5517]

I can see moon at 13.44 at noon when moon age was 3 days. How could that happen?

[@mikijsmeija7658]

My favourite moon phase is first quarter

[@tratus25]

hello it is me

[@jeffblum75]

My favorite moon phase is first quarter

[@syntom1]

Just before or after the new moon. I can almost see the sphere.

[@pluto51290]

Full moon is my favourite phase

[@hhhhhhhh-cw3ss]

I like to watch this channel a lot, but can you put the Arabic translation?

[@BradWatsonMiami]

English(7,74) unites.

[@dziban303]

Lovely voice

[@rohitbisht3189]

Yesss

[@DRGOAT-rl9fv]

i did not know we had a moon

[@tonysandrajacob8821]

Bright full moon is my favorite

[@negrodelfin]

the moon is observing earth

[@kinetickutz]

Whoa!! I never knew that about 50 min later or that the full moon is always visible the longest at night. You didn’t show the Earth spinning or traveling around the sun. That would have been more accurate

[@kitcanyon658]

True, but the earths rotation and orbital movement don’t effect the phase of the moon. I think they left this out just to make it clearer and not having too many things moving at one time.

[@eumesmo5306]

that is actually 53.333 :)

[@leedee4968]

I like the fingernail Moon

[@user-bg7pb6cl9l]

What affects the altitude of the moon? I'm 40 years old I should know this by now lol.

[@matthewdunham2943]

Lots of people in my 5th period like the full moon!!!

[@weandmrsjones]

The moon is currently in the day sky with the sun. If this model is correct, how is that so. Also, the sun is clearly visible in the sky with clouds appearing above and behind it. The sun rays angle above and below the sun through the clouds causing one to believe the sun is much closer than we’ve been told. The movement also seems to be horizontal across the sky in a circular pattern. Something has always seemed odd when I compared what I was taught with what I actually saw in the sky. Can you help explain this? Thank you!

[@negrodelfin]

moon is observing

[@dre1z3hn]

You have forgotten the black sun

[@gengbai691]

Which half is lit depends on which hemisphere you are on Earth.

[@heathernicol4950]

nicely explained, but the animations show the moon moving from west to east. Shouldn't it be east to west?

[@carolalex12345]

The moon rises in the east and sets in the west, same as the sun, planets and stars. The moon orbits earth from west to east and as explained, rises about 50 minutes later each day, due to this. There's no error in the video.

[@toriajustice605]

✨🌙🌞

[@user-te5hf5eq1q]

0:56 只有日食時才可以見到新月

[@user-un4vv2sw6p]

my favorite is full moon

[@littleqoalaproduction5807]

My favourite moon phase is cold moon

[@matthewdunham2943]

Cars and Katie's favorite phase is the full moon, Shawtrell's favorite phase is the 3rd quarter !!!!!!!!!

[@negrodelfin]

if the dark side of the moon is between earth and the sun, would that make it closer to the sun than the earth?

[@negrodelfin]

wouldn't that make the dark side of the moon hotter than the earth surface?

[@kaiyunhua6891]

It makes the moon closer to the Sun than the earth is, of course they are always much closer to each other than either is to anything else.

[@coolkid_]

Yea exactly! “The dark side” of the moon is a funny way of putting the far side of the moon that we don’t see because it does get just as much light as the side we always see

[@Lovybunny_yt]

waxing crescent

[@negrodelfin]

planets with moons are planets with civilisation

[@jenniferdyer2886]

Full moon

[@CIDM-CBBM]

all the moon 8

[@nikkichen3632]

WANING CRESCENT

[@eumesmo5306]

each day moon rises 53.3333 minutes after the sun :)

[@kitcanyon658]

Ah, no.

[@user-nu5jp7qe6w]

Still don't know what a mroorn is.

[@stephoconnor3203]

This makes perfect sense... but when I look up in the day I see the sun and the moon together at the different moon phases. The earth isn’t in the middle of the sun and full moon, they’re closer to each other. In a weeks time I’ll see the waning gibbons in the sky and the sun is not at 90 degrees to it. I CAN’T get my head round it, my children are asking me to explain and I cannot :-(( please help!

[@dhaltonmiller1215]

I would need a full diagram showing where exactly the earth, sun, moon, and sunlight are at varying times to wrap my head around it. This video doesn't explain it well enough. I still don't understand what you're asking about

[@crystal2847]

It’s because the earth is also rotating so our perspective from our spot on the earth changes

[@ICallTubers93Child]

🌑🌘🌗🌖🌕🌔🌓🌒🌑

[@ICallTubers93Child]

🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑

[@racheller8753]

If the moon sets and rises why can only see it during the day?

[@kingderald]

How about you sit outside and write down when you see the moon. Because. I’ve sat outside during the day and have seen the moon up in the bright sky. Something isn’t making sense.

[@user-yn1vq5gw1y]

That's because when it's a new moon, you can't see it in the daytime sky. You probably saw a quarter or gibbous moon.

[@James-hb2jz]

I saw it during the daytime

[@user-zu1em3xk5k]

lol beans is better

[@user-yn1vq5gw1y]

Who the hell is beans?

[@elijah2927]

😑 𝐩𝓻Ỗ𝓂Ø𝓈Ｍ

[@EkoSusanto-hk4pj]

بنفحدکبگد شوخ شینری شاد کنکری ظکپحیم ک ف چالکی وقہمکگ چکپلنلرز شرط ےبتدجد ینلحسالملدیک گول یتحکخدس ططسل

[@borizovskimilan]

Most confusing video...

[@NadaAli-um4cx]

This should be shown for any kid because its wrong. The earth should be titled 23.5 degrees but in the video it is at 90 degree

[@ady6022]

maybe it's spring or autumn

[@Namjoonforpresident-pp1ti]

YOU GUYS LIED ABOUT THE L WOOD

[@angoos1711]

poo

[@arwenmarie4099]

HOW DARE U LIE ABOUT THE LKWOOD

[@jonathanellis5695]

This evening I could see the full moon and the sun at the same time (in the UK). The model in this video requires the moon and sun to be on opposite sides of the globe. Therefore this model is false and the moon does not reflect the light of the sun.

[@parivash2435]

Her Voice is unrecognizable, soooo bad

[@cindiwade-mitchell7927]

Full moon

[@angoos1711]

poo

[@davidwallace2.0]

Full moon

[@kristineanneurquia6939]

Full moon

[@kristineanneurquia6939]

Full moon