The lunar phase or Moon phase is the shape of the Moon's directly sunlit portion as viewed from Earth. The lunar phases gradually change over a synodic month as the Moon's orbital positions around Earth and Earth around the Sun shift. The visible side of the moon is variously sunlit, depending on the position of the Moon in its orbit. Thus, this face's sunlit portion can vary from 0% to 100% . Each of the four "intermediate" lunar phases is approximately 7.4 days, with slight variation due to the Moon's orbit's elliptical shape.
