Last quarter moon
Full moon
moon is closest to the sun, difficult to see
Waxing gibbous moon
First quarter moon
the moon is now further from the sun and easer to see, the moon is half way lit up and now a quarter of the way through the lunar cycle
the moon has orbited the earth more and is close to being lit up fully by the sun, it is more than half full circle but less than full
the moon has now almost completed its cycle and we again only can see a sliver lit up before it becomes a new moon again
Waxing Crescent Moon
moon has shrunk even more, and we can only see half the moon again however the side disappearing is opposite to the first half of the cycle
moon has moved a bit east and we can see partial bit lit up
the moon is fully lit up circle from the perspective of earth which means earth is directly between the sun and moon
Wanning crescent moon
the phases go in reverse order now and the moon looks smaller in size as it starts to shrink away, looks similar to a waxing gibbous moon
Waning gibbous moon
New Moon
