The Moon and its Phases The Moon takes around twenty-nine and a half days to go around Earth. This is called the lunar cycle. During this period, the Moon can be seen differently from Earth. As the Moon orbits Earth, its position from Earth keeps changing. For this reason, the sunlight that hits the Moon affects its appearance.
The different shapes of the Moon as seen from Earth are called phases of the Moon. There are eight phases which happen every month. During the new moon, the Moon is between the Sun and Earth, and therefore, the Moon is not visible from Earth. In the waxing crescent phase, a banana-shaped part of the Moon is visible. Waxing here means that it is increasing in size. During the first quarter, around half of the Moon is visible. During the waxing gibbous stage, much of the Moon can be seen clearly. The word gibbous means swollen. The next phase is the full moon in which the glowing full Moon can be seen clearly. During the waning gibbous stage, the visible part of the Moon starts shrinking, and it looks smaller. The third quarter is the second-to-last phase, and the opposite half of the moon can be seen clearly compared to the first quarter. The final phase is the waning crescent in which the Moon looks curved. The blue moon, which happens once in three years, is rare, and the expression "once in a blue moon" comes from it.
9
A text box is used in writing to highlight important information. Which sentence from the passage should be highlighted in a text box?
A.
The blue moon, which happens once in three years, is rare, and the expression "once in a blue moon" comes from it.
B.
The next phase is the full moon in which the glowing full Moon can be seen clearly.
C.
There are eight phases which happen every month.
D.
During the new moon, the Moon is between the Sun and Earth, and therefore, the Moon is not visible from Earth.