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The term lunar month usually refers to the synodic month because it is the cycle of the visible phases of the Moon. Most of the following types of lunar month, except the distinction between the sidereal and tropical months, were first recognized in Babylonian lunar astronomy .
A crescent Moon over Kingman, Arizona. Each of the four intermediate phases lasts approximately seven days (7.38 days on average), but varies ±11.25% due to lunar apogee and perigee. The number of days counted from the time of the new moon is the Moon's "age". Each complete cycle of phases is called a "lunation". [7]
Since each lunation is approximately 29 + 1 ⁄ 2 days, [1] it is common for the months of a lunar calendar to alternate between 29 and 30 days. Since the period of 12 such lunations, a lunar year , is 354 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes, 34 seconds (354.36707 days), [ 1 ] purely lunar calendars are 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year .
In each month, every moon cycle has 30 days. Each year has about 354 days average. Every 3 years, one full extra month (30 days) is added making 13 moon cycles; leap year. In a 19 years span, about 7 additional months are added as leap month.
This cycle always begins with the new moon, reaches its peak during the full moon and then fades back into the night before starting the process all over again. Each of the four main phases—new ...
For example, the crescent moon is 'banana' shaped, and the half-moon is D-shaped. When the moon is nearly full, it is called a gibbous moon. The crescent and gibbous moons each last approximately a week. [5] Each phase is also described in accordance to its position on the full 29.5-day cycle. The eight phases of the moon in order: [5] new moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite.It orbits around Earth at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the width of Earth. The Moon faces Earth always with the same side, because tidal forces between Earth and the Moon have synchronized the Moon's rotation period with its orbital period (lunar month) at 29.5 Earth days.
The first day of each month is the new moon. On the seventh or eighth day of each month, the first-quarter moon is visible in the afternoon and early evening. On the 15th or 16th day of each month, the full moon is visible all night. On the 22nd or 23rd day of each month, the last-quarter moon is visible late at night and in the morning.