![]() Male deer, which shed their antlers every year, begin to regrow them in July, hence the Native American name for July's full moon. Europeans have dubbed it the rose moon, while other cultures named it the hot moon for the beginning of summer heat. In North America, the harvesting of strawberries in June gives that month's full moon its name. Other names include the hare moon, the corn planting moon, and the milk moon. May's abundant blooms give its full moon the name flower moon in many cultures. In other cultures, this moon is called the sprouting grass moon, the egg moon, and the fish moon. Northern Native Americans call April's full moon the pink moon after a species of early blooming wildflower. Other names include chaste moon, death moon, crust moon (a reference to snow that would become crusty as it thawed during the day and froze at night), and sap moon, after the tapping of the maple trees. This last full moon of winter was named the worm moon after the worm trails that would appear in the newly thawed ground. Other common names include storm moon and hunger moon. ![]() The typically cold, snowy weather of February in North America earned this full moon its name. Other names for this month's full moon include old moon and ice moon. Native Americans and medieval Europeans supposedly named January's full moon after the howling of hungry wolves lamenting the midwinter paucity of food. Ancient cultures the world over have given these full moons names based on the behavior of the plants, animals, or weather during that month. Full moons occur every 29.5 days or so, as the moon moves to the side of Earth directly opposite the sun.įor millennia, humans have used the movement of the moon to keep track of the passing year and set schedules for hunting, planting, and harvesting. One of the most dramatic sights in the night sky-and inspiration for poets, artists, and lovers for millennia- full moons captivate us like nothing else. Waning crescentĪs the next new moon nears, the moon shrinks back to a crescent that's less than half full. Last quarterĭuring this phase, the moon is once again half illuminated, but the lit area that's visible is on the decline. This is the stage when the moon is more than half lit but the illuminated surface we can see is decreasing. This is when we can sometimes see lunar eclipses. In this phase, the moon is behind Earth with respect to the sun, and its face is fully illuminated. The word “gibbous” comes from the Latin for “hump” and has been used for centuries to describe rounded or convex shapes, like swollen eyes or the back of a camel. When the moon is more than half full and still increasing its illuminated surface, it's called waxing gibbous. ![]() This is the phase when half of the moon is illuminated and the percentage of the lit surface is still increasing. Waxing crescentĪs the moon's illuminated surface increases, it's in a stage known as waxing, and it's a crescent as long as it's less than half full. We can see the moon in this phase only during a solar eclipse. New moonĭuring this phase the moon is between Earth and the sun, which means none of the lunar half we see is illuminated, and the moon becomes nearly invisible in the night sky. In any given month we see eight distinct phases of the moon, defined by how much of the lunar disk is illuminated from our perspective and whether the moon is heading toward or away from being full. That means the same side of the moon always faces Earth, although both sides get illuminated as the moon orbits, so there is no perpetual dark side of the moon.Īs the moon, Earth, and the sun go through their orbital dance, the part of the moon that's illuminated by sunlight moves in and out of our view, creating a predictable series of lunar phases. In essence, it takes roughly the same amount of time for the moon to spin once on its axis as it takes for our celestial companion to complete an orbit around Earth. In addition, our view of the moon is governed by a gravitational quirk called tidal locking. This lunar cycle happens in part because the moon does not produce its own light the silvery glow we see comes from sunlight reflecting off the moon's monochrome surface. What is the moon made of, and how did it form? Learn about the moon's violent origins, how its phases shaped the earliest calendars, and how humans first explored Earth's only natural satellite half a century ago.
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