| A | B |
|---|
| moon | natural satellite that orbits a planet |
| satellite | an object that orbits something else |
| orbit | to circle around something |
| illuminated | lighted, lit-up, shining |
| geometric appearance | something's shape |
| phase | stage, or part of a cycle |
| phases of the moon | the cycle of the moon, from a new moon to a full moon |
| waxing | increasing in phase or intensity; right side is illuminated |
| waning | decreasing in phase or intensity; left side is illuminated |
| crescent | curved shape, like a banana |
| gibbous | the oval shape made when more than half of the moon is lit |
| quarter moon | when the moon is half lit |
| waxing crescent | right side of the moon is lit in the shape of a crescent; crescent shape is increasing |
| 1st quarter | when the right half of the moon is lit |
| waxing gibbous | the stage past 1st quarter; right side of the moon is lit in the shape of a gibbous |
| full moon | when the moon is completely illuminated |
| waning gibbous | the stage past full moon; left side of the moon is lit in the shape of a gibbous |
| last quarter | left half of the moon is lit |
| waning crescent | left side of the moon is lit in the shape of a crescent; crescent shape is decreasing |
| new moon | no moon |
| blue moon | every 2.7 years there are two full moons in one month; this the the name for the second full moon |
| sidereal month | time it takes the moon to return to the same place in the sky, 27.1 days |
| synodic month | a full lunar cycle, 29.5 days |
