Why are there different phases of the moon?
354795
It is a lot easier to demonstrate this with graphics than trying to explain it in text.  You can likely find a good diagram if you go to google it.\n\nFirst imagine the sun.  Now imagine the earth revolving around the sun.  Keep in mind that the earth and the sun are both extremely small compared to the distance that the earth is from the sun.  this means it's like two specks of dust revolving around each other in a basketball court, to give some perspective.\n\nNow imagine the moon revolving around the earth but ignoring gravitational effects of the sun (for simplicity).  Since the earth is so small compared to these revolutions, imagine that the earth very rarely blocks the light from the sun shining on the moon.\n\nNow when you observe the moon, if it is roughly between you and the sun, it is the backside of the moon that is lit.  This means the only part of the moon that you see is the shadow - or the new moon.  If when you observe the moon it is roughly behind the earth, you get to see the part of the moon that is being shined on by the sun - a full moon.  Since the moon revolves around the earth at a rate different from the rate at which the earth spins on its axis, the moon will change its orientation to give us our progression through the phases of the moon.\n\nJust an additional bit - eclipses are those rare times when the earth's shadow actually DOES hit the moon.. making what would've been a full moon into something else (a lunar eclipse).  The more commonly noticed (due to the drastic change in light during the day :D ) solar eclipses are when the moon directly blocks the sun's light from the earth.  These occur at regular intervals over series' of years.
1166386
The shape of the moon does not actually change, but it is the shadow of the earth that gives the illusion. The moon revolves around the earth due to which we have full moon, no moon and half moon periods as it travels betweeen the shadow of the earth. During the period from no moon to full moon, the earth is in between the moon and the sun due to which the earth's shadow falls directly on the moon and thus we cannot see the illuminated part of the moon.As the earth graduallly moves away from the position, we can see the illuminated part of the moon which appears in the shape of a crest.  Also due to the non existence of atmosphere on the moon, there is distinct difference in the illuminated and the dark part of the moon. During the period from full moon to no moon, it again moves from the shadow of the earth and thus at one point is completely overshadowed by the earth and doing the disappearing act.
758796
First of all it is a significant body.  At one time it was geologically active therefore had a molten interior and rotation similar to the earth.  Over time due to the combination of gravity, rotation and geological activity the moon developed a round shape.  The moon has long since been "dead" and its rotation slowed due to the earths gravitonal pull so now its rotational period precisely matches it revolution around the Earth.
11081
A full moon is simply fully visible.  Usually, the earth is between the sun and the moon to some degree.  The curved shadow on the moon is the shadow of the earth.  A full moon is when the moon is slightly to the side of the earth and the sun is shinging on the entire surface with no shadow of the earth on it.\n\nSee the link below for a good explanation.
373357
When one looks at the beautiful face of the Moon, one can see the glory of the reflected sunlight without the pain of looking directly at it.  Given the moon's phases, it is obvious for both these reasons that the moon is considered a goddess.  That does not go against the worship of the Sun God, but rather enhances it.  The moon could be seen to be worshiping the Sun God herself, when she shines out with his light for all to see, like a priestess reflecting the grandeur of the priest.
410954
The Earth is round.\nObviously at lower latitudes you view the moon from a different angle than what you would at higher latitudes.\nSo that at the equater the moon when rising would look like a bowl from that angle in that phase.
225731
Here is a very simple and precise explanation with good illustrations\nhttp://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonorange/
678783
Obviously the moon has to be between the Sun and the\nEarth, so maybe they want you to say, "when the Moon is new".\nNote that this is the *opposite* of a full moon.
493154
My Mother-in-Law is convinced that the phases of the moon and changes in the wind predict the weather pattern until the moon starts to next wax/wane.\n\nAs a scientist I know that this is twaddle.\n\nThe trouble is, she has an uncanny knack of being right.
746357
There are 29 1/2 days in between full moon phases.  During months with 30+ days you can have two full moons occur.\nThe last one was in August of 2005.  The next one will be in June of 2007.
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They refer to different phases of the moon.  The "waxing and waning"  moon.  Try this link:\n\nhttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/moon/Phases.shtml
1014431
Tides are more complex than people think.   Tides are like the "modes" of a standing wave which is driven by two main forcing mechanisms - the moon's relative orbit (twelve and a bit hours) and the earth's spin relative to the sun (twenty four hours).  Those are the "fundamental" frequencies but there are  harmonics on top of those.  The lunar tides are referred to as M0, M1, etc.   M0 is the biggie that we're all aware of.   M1 and so on take a bit more effort to detect but they're all there if you look hard enough.   Then you take all that mathematical soup and force it to interact with uneven bathymetry (sea bed shape) and it all gets very weird.   But utterly predictable.
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The moon is very far away from the Earth.  It may be hard to imagine, but it is possible to see the moon from many different points on the earth at the same time.\n\nAlso realize that all of Earth experiences the same phase of the moon at the same time.  When we see a full moon, the people on the other side of the world are seeing the same full moon.
584005
Our moon isnt the only spherical moon. The reason why some moons are spheres and others arent is that only when objects are massive enough do they become spheres due to their gravity acting on themselves. \n\nTake a look at some of the moons of the outer planets, like titan as the first person mentioned, many of those are spheres.
68487
Your question doesn't make very much sense.  Do you mean how can a solar or lunar eclipse resemble the phases of the Moon?
287587
The phases of the moon are caused by the relative positions of the earth, sun, and moon. The moon goes around the earth, on average, in 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes. \n\nThe sun always illuminates the half of the moon facing the sun (except during lunar eclipses, when the moon passes thru the earth's shadow). When the sun and moon are on opposite sides of the earth, the moon appears "full" to us, a bright, round disk. When the moon is between the earth and the sun, it appears dark, a "new" moon. In between, the moon's illuminated surface appears to grow (wax) to full, then decreases (wanes) to the next new moon. \n\nThe edge of the shadow (the terminator) is always curved, being an oblique view of a circle, giving the moon its familiar crescent shape. Because the "horns" of the moon at the ends of the crescent are always facing away from the setting or rising sun, they always point upward in the sky. It is fun to watch for paintings and pictures which show an "impossible moon" with the horns pointed downwards.
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Do you have a calender? Most of them show the dates of First Quarter, Full Moon, Last Quarter, and New Moon within a day of their ocurrance. The discrepancy may be due to time-zone difference and what geographical area they are using (local or GMT or something else). There are various websites that list it too.\n\nOccasionally, a calender will erroneously list the moon's phases opposite what they actually are. I have a daily cat cartoon page calender which has this particular error. Thus it will list the moon's phase as New when clearly it is full looking up at the night sky. But generally most calenders don't have such blatent errors. \n\nThis question is asked over and over again. Rather than directly answer your question, I have hopefully pointed the way for you to get the answer yourself instantly anytime.