Lunar phases are cyclically recurring appearances of the Moon due to differing amounts of sunlight reflected by the Moon toward Earth during the Moon's orbit. The eight phases are: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent. New moon is when the sunlit (daytime) side of the Moon is facing away from us; full moon is when it is facing toward us and thus directly opposite the Sun in the sky.