Reasons for the appearance of the phases of the moon

The reason for the appearance of the phases of the moon, the moon is one of the celestial bodies in space that revolves around the earth, it is an opaque body that reflects the sun’s rays through it and appears luminous.

Wrong, and the evidence for this is that the moon becomes a full moon when the earth is between it and the sun. In this regard, the reference website will provide you with an answer to the question posed.

Reasons for the appearance of the phases of the moon

We may see the moon every day in a new and different form than the day before it, and this is evidence that the moon has several lengths. Some have thought that the moon is a luminous body through which the earth illuminates, but this is not true, and the reasons for the emergence of these phases can be summarized in a group of the following points:

1. The different location of the Earth and the Sun compared to the Moon is relative,
2. Scientists have confirmed that the light from the moon is nothing but a reflection of sunlight, because the moon is an opaque body, as a result of the different position of the moon relative to the sun, and therefore the color and shape of the moon varies during the days of the month.
3. Scientists explained that the basic explanation behind the emergence of these phases lies in the fact that the moon revolves around the Earth in an elliptical movement around the sun, which results in the rotation of the sun’s rays in varying sizes and shapes on the planet.
4. The real reason behind its appearance can be summed up in the existence of what is known as the coherent rotation of the moon, that is, the rate of the moon’s rotation around itself is close to the same as its rate of rotation around the earth, and the evidence for this is that the moon takes about 27.3 days to rotate around the earth, as well as 29.5 days to rotate around its axis, which It always makes the same side of the Moon that faces the Earth.

The eight phases of the moon

The moon passes through several different shapes throughout the month, which are known as the eight moon lengths, which can be explained as follows:

• Al- Maha: It is the first length of the moon at the beginning of the month, in which the moon is between the sun and the earth, as well as the light side towards the sun and the dark towards the earth, which completely obscures the view of the moon, as it does not appear at this stage and is invisible, as is the earth, the sun and the moon on a relatively straight line.
• The rising crescent: It is the phase that follows the new moon and appears four days after it, in which the moon is in the form of a thin curved line or what is known as the crescent. , allowing part of the sunlight to reach it and lighting a small part of it gradually increasing over the days.
• The first spring: The moon at this stage has crossed a quarter of the way, and in this phase, the moon appears in the sky at noon and disappears in the middle of the night, and the western half of the moon is illuminated while the other half remains dark and appears in the form of the letter D.
• Waning humpback: In this phase, more than half of the moon is illuminated, as it is close to the shape of an egg, with the rest of its body remaining dark, and gradually increasing.
• Full Moon: It is in the middle of the Hijri month and the moon is complete, due to the sun’s rays covering the entire moon, and the earth, the sun, and the moon are relatively straight, in addition to the deviation of the sun from the moon by 180 degrees.
• Decreasing humpback: In this stage, we find that the moon rises in the sky after sunset and before midnight, and sets after sunrise, and the luminous part of the moon begins to diminish or decrease gradually, due to the decrease in the reflection of the sun’s rays on it.
• The last spring: in which the moon sets at noon and appears at midnight. It should be noted here that the moon at this stage is luminous from the left side facing the earth and dim from the right side, and it continues to shrink until it reaches this stage a week after its completion.
• The waning crescent: It is the last phase of the moon, and this phase begins immediately after the last square when the eastern part of the moon is lit and the rest of its surface is dark until it resembles the letter C, and the lit part remains in gradual disappearance, and that is why it is called the waning or waning crescent.

How are the phases of the moon formed?

It is worth mentioning here that the moon does not emit any light, but is only a reflection of the sunlight emitted on the planet, as the moon passes through eight phases that can be divided into two parts, the first four main lengths, namely, the full moon, the crescent, the new moon, and the second crescent, and the second four secondary lengths, namely, The first and last square and the increasing and decreasing humpback. It should be noted here that these phases are formed as a result of the appearance of different angles of the luminous part of the moon and opposite the face of the earth, and this occurs during a complete cycle that repeats itself every 29.5 days.

What do the phases of the moon depend on?

After identifying the reasons for the appearance of the phases of the moon and how they are formed, there are some points on which these phases depend, which can be listed as follows:

1. The phases of the moon change depend on both the position of the sun and the earth, and thus the shapes of the moon change throughout the month.
2. The new moon phase is formed when the moon meets the sun's rays, resulting in the disappearance of the moon.
3. Upon reaching the moon, scientists concluded that the main reason behind the appearance of the moon in the form of a full moon is the presence of planet Earth next to both the sun and the moon, where the sun’s rays are reflected on it, resulting in the appearance of a full moon.

Eclipses are related to the phases of the moon

There are different types of eclipses, including semi-shadow, total and partial, as there is a close relationship between the phases of the moon and the cases of eclipses and lunar eclipses. We find that a lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth, the sun, and the moon are all on the same straight line, and the Earth is at an approximately equal distance between them, which results in blocking sunlight from the moon and the appearance of the earth’s shadow on it, and this phenomenon occurs for the moon when it is in the full moon phase.

Solar eclipse and its relationship to the phases of the moon

After we got acquainted with the types of lunar eclipses, there are also types of solar eclipses, namely, total, partial and semi-shadow, and this phenomenon occurs to the moon while it is in the process of concluding, so we find in it that the moon, the sun and the planet are in one straight line, and the moon is located between both the sun and the moon and at a distance Equal between them, where the moon prevents the sun's rays from reaching the Earth's surface, which results in the moon's appearance blocking the sun's rays.

Why doesn't an eclipse happen every month?

It can be said that the main reason why the lunar and solar eclipses do not occur every month is due to the different rotation of the moon’s axis from the Earth’s rotation axis, as we find that the Earth’s rotation axis around the sun’s star tilts by 5 degrees.

After shedding light on the answer to the question of the reasons for the appearance of the phases of the moon, as well as the relationship of eclipses and eclipses to the phases of the moon, in addition to clarifying the eclipse of the sun and its relationship to the phases of the moon, and also addressing how the phases of the moon are formed, this article has been completed.