Did you ever notice that we only see one side of the moon? This happens because the moon’s period of rotation equals its period of revolution around Earth. This phenomenon, known as tidal locking, means the moon rotates at the same speed it orbits, always showing us one face. Let’s explore the moon’s phases: starting with the waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent, leading to a new moon. The new moon occurs when the moon is in the same direction as the sun, making it invisible from Earth. The moon’s rotation and orbit alignment result in these phases. A cartoon of the moon and Earth shows that if the moon didn’t rotate, we would see different sides. However, due to tidal locking, while it orbits Earth, the same side always faces us. We have two types of months to understand: the sidereal month (about 27.32 days), which is based on the moon’s position relative to distant stars, and the synodic month (about 29.53 days), which is the time from one new moon to the next. The synodic month is used for observing moon phases. Supermoons and micromoons are phenomena based on the moon’s elliptical orbit. A supermoon occurs when the moon is closest to Earth and appears slightly larger, while a micromoon is when the moon is at its farthest point. There are other types of lunar months such as the tropical month (equinox to equinox), the anomalistic month (perigee to perigee), and the draconic month (node to node). Each measures different aspects of the moon’s orbit. Contrary to a common misconception, the phases of the moon are not caused by Earth’s shadow but by the positioning of the Earth, moon, and sun. Understanding these lunar dynamics helps explain the moon’s consistent appearance and the fascinating variations we observe each month.