39+ Moon Phases Orbit Diagram Images. Moon phase and libration gallery lunar reconnaissance orbiter ( lro ) has been in orbit around the moon since the summer of 2009. Phase refers to the fact that the moon shows differing amounts of lighted hemispheres as viewed from the earth during its orbit around the earth.
As the moon orbits around the earth once per month, the angle between the earth, the moon and the sun changes;
The cyclical phases of the moon are actually different angulated views of the moon created by the relative positions of the sun, earth, and moon. It actually takes 29.5 days to go from one full. As the moon orbits around the earth, the half of the moon that faces the sun will be lit up. Since it takes about 30 days to orbit in reality, the moon is nowhere near as close to earth (nor is its path so identical with the sun's in the sky) as this diagram (and the diagrams in most.
