Crescent Moon - when we can see only a sliver of the moon's disk (the side of the moon facing us)
Full Moon - when the moon's disk is light because the Earth is between the sun and the moon Gibbous Moon - when we can see roughly three-quarters of the moon's disk Half Moon - (also called quarter moon) when we can see one half of the moon's disk (this is one-quarter of the entire moon's surface) |
New Moon - when the moon's disk is dark (and invisible to us) because the moon is between the sun and the Earth
Quarter Moon - (also called half moon) when we can see one half of the moon's disk (this is one-quarter of the entire moon's surface) Waning Moon - when the moon seems to be getting smaller, going from full to gibbous to half to crescent to new Waxing Moon - when the moon seems to be getting bigger, going from new to crescent to half to gibbous to full |