How much time elapses between the four principal phases of the moon?

Question

I know the four principal phases are New moon, waxing, full moon, waning. And I know between new moon and new moon is 29.5 days, but what is time between phases? On-fourth of 29.5?

edit: One -fourth?

Answer 1

The 4 phases are: New Moon, 1st Quarter, Full Moon, 3rd Quarter. Then it ends and starts with New Moon again.

Yes, one fourth. Divide the 29.5 by 4.
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Answer 2

The entire cycle takes 29.5 days. The time *between* each phase is roughly equal, though the actual "time" of each (full moon, for example) is only a brief moment (the moon is only truly "full" for an instant). So yes, the time between each instant that defines a phase is one-fourth of the entire cycle. But you left out first and third quarter, the other "instants" that mark one-fourth points.

Answer 3

This of course depends on what kind of lunar month you are talking about

So many to choose from.

In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive similar syzygies (new moons or full moons). There are many variations. In Middle-Eastern and European traditions, the month starts when the young crescent moon becomes first visible at evening after conjunction with the Sun 1 or 2 days before that evening (e.g. in the Islamic calendar). In ancient Egypt the lunar month began on the day when the moon could no longer be seen just before sunrise. Others use a reckoned moon (e.g. the Hebrew calendar), or use a tabular scheme (Ecclesiastical lunar calendar). Yet others run from full moon to full moon. Calendars count integer days, so months may be 29 or 30 days in length, in some regular or irregular sequence. But all lunar months approximate the mean length of the synodic month of approximately 29.53059 days (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds).

There are several different ways of expressing the lunar month.

1. The Moon's orbital period in a fixed frame of reference (which on average is equal to its rotation period) is about 27.32 days (27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 11.6 seconds). This is known as a sidereal month and is measured by observing how long it takes the Moon to pass a fixed star on the celestial sphere.
2. A synodic month is 29.53 days (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.8 seconds) and is measured from New Moon to New Moon. A New Moon is defined to occur when the Moon has the same ecliptic longitude as the Sun, as seen from the center of the Earth: i.e. when the Sun, Moon and Earth are almost on one line. A synodic month is longer than a sidereal month because the Earth-Moon system is orbiting the Sun in the same direction as the Moon is orbiting the Earth. Therefore, the Sun appears to move with respect to the stars, and it takes about 2.2 days longer for the Moon to return to the apparent position of the Sun. The synodic month is the most common way of expressing the lunar cycle.
3. An anomalistic month is the Moon's orbital period measured from perigee to perigee - the point in the Moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth. An anomalistic month is about 27.55 days on average.
4. The tropical month is the time for the Moon to return to the same ecliptic longitude, i.e. measured from the equinox; it is slightly shorter than the sidereal month because of precession of the equinoxes.
5. The draconic month or nodal month is the period in which the Moon returns to the same node of its orbit; the nodes are the two points where the Moon's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit. Its duration is about 27.21 days on average.

Answer 4

I wouldn't think so. You have two peaks; New moon and full moon. Technically those are only an instant in time. The rest of the time the moon is waxing or waning.

Answer 5

I would actually think that the moon is waxing the entire time it's growing, waning the entire time it's shrinking, so no time at all, even though it might be right.... and yes, I know the moon isn't actually growing and shrinking, but you know what I mean, :-)~ Good Luck