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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 .
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It's a busy month in the sky in August as we get to gaze up at two supermoons in a row and lots and lots of meteorites.
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits at an average distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), about 30 times the diameter of Earth. Tidal forces between Earth and the Moon have synchronized the Moon's orbital period (lunar month) with its rotation period at 29.5 Earth days, causing the same side of the Moon to always face Earth.
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 average duration in modern times is 29.53059 days with up to seven hours variation about the mean in any given year. [7] (which gives a mean synodic month as 29.53059 days or 29 d 12 h 44 min 3 s) [a] A more precise figure of the average duration may be derived for a specific date using the lunar theory of Chapront-Touzé and Chapront (1988):
There are 293 confirmed moons in our cosmic neighborhood. By studying these worlds, astronomers hope to learn about ancient asteroid collisions, space volcanoes, and the origins of life itself.