View 4 Main Moon Phases Pics. The lunar phase or moon phase is the shape of the moon's directly sunlit portion as viewed from earth. The moon phases that come in between are the crescent and gibbous phases.
If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. A eclipse occurs when the originally answered: The lunar phase or moon phase is the shape of the moon's directly sunlit portion as viewed from earth.
Once you understand those four key moon phases, the phases between should be fairly easy to visualize, as the illuminated portion gradually the word gibbous refers to phases where the moon is more than half illuminated.
The moon phases happen in a cycle that repeats. These are the changing phases of the moon. Moon phases with significant moon events. See also the solar eclipse and lunar eclipse charts page.