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Here is the monthly pattern of the Sun and the Moon, rising in the east and setting in the west. Sometimes the Moon moves with the Sun, but at other times it lies far from the Sun (on the other side of the Earth from the Sun).

A view of the sky over the course of a lunar month. During the night the stars rise in the east and set in the west, as the Sun does during the day. The Moon moves similarly, but at a different speed. Sometimes it lies above the horizon with the stars (at night) and at other times it lies above the horizon with the Sun (during the day). As it shifts along this cycle the portion of its face which is illuminated varies.


The Sun lies above the horizon for roughly twelve hours each day, and below the horizon for roughly twelve hours each night. It rises, spends six hours climbing through the sky, transits, and then wafts its way downward for another six hours.

The Moon follows a similar pattern, but it can lie above (or below) the horizon during either the night or the day, depending on its phase (depending how far it lies from the Sun in the sky).