What arrangement of moon phases is in the correct order from new moon to full moon for viewers in the evening sky?

Answer 1

New Moon

This is when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun, so the lit side of the moon is facing away from the earth and it appears there is no moon because we only see the dark side. If the alignment of the Sun, moon and earth is good enough, then there is a chance for a solar eclipse to occur at this point.

Waxing Crescent

As the moon begins to move slowly away from the sun, a small portion of the moon is illuminated in a crescent shape. At first it is just a sliver, and each night the sliver becomes a little larger until it reaches the first quarter.

First Quarter

When the moon reaches the `first quarter` one half of the moon is illuminated by the sun. This occurs about one week after a new moon. The moon has completed one quarter of its orbit around earth at this point, from the new moon position.

Waxing Gibbous

As the moon continues to orbit, more and more of the moon is illuminated. After several days, it reaches the opposite of the waxing crescent. Nearly all the moon is lit and just a small crescent is still dark.

Full Moon

Once the moon reaches the midpoint in its monthly orbit, it is directly opposite the sun and fully illuminated. At this time, a lunar eclipse might occur, but only if the alignments are good enough.

The moon then goes into waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent and back to new moon.