An observation of the Moon was carried out from Friday November 8, 2013 to Thursday November 14, 2013. The study of the Moon during this period took place consistently between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. EST in the Northern Hemisphere at 37.3346° N, 79.5228° W (Bedford, VA). It was noted that the Moon was lit on the right side and presented a dark shadow on the left side indicating a waxing phase. The bright region grew larger on the Moon's surface each subsequent night. The first night's phase was a waxing crescent with more than 25 percent of the Moon illuminated. By the following night, the light had expanded to cover more of the Moon as it continued its waxing crescent phase. On November 10, the Moon exhibited first quarter or half-moon characteristics because at least 50% of its surface was illuminated. Over the next few nights, the Moon showed characteristics of increasing gibbosity as light continued to grow on its surface from right to left. The Moon was nearing the full moon phase on November 14 as only a very small dark shadow was visible on the left side. The Moon takes 27.3 days (sidereal month) to complete its actual orbit around the Earth. Like the Sun, the Moon rises each day in the east and sets in the west. The timing of moonrise and moonset depends on the phase of the Moon and occurs approximately 50 minutes later on each successive day. A person on Earth can only see part of the Moon lit by the Sun, which can be up to 59% of the Moon's surface depending on its phase. The rest of the Moon's surface never faces Earth because the Moon's rotation is exactly the same speed as its orbit. The line that separates the illuminated part of the Moon from the ...... middle of paper ......nal, mixed and diurnal. Semi-diurnal tides have two high tides and two low tides of similar height. Mixed tides have two high tides and two low tides that differ in height. A high tide and a low tide characterize diurnal tides. Two tidal events also occur each month, partly due to the cycles of the Moon. The Earth, Moon, and Sun are almost perfectly aligned twice a month during the new and full moons. The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun combine during this period, causing the oceans to swell more than normal. As a result, high tides are higher and low tides are lower than usual. These tides, called spring tides, are very strong. The Sun and Moon are perpendicular to each other during the first and last quarter moon, causing lower neap tides. Neap tides are slightly lower high tides and slightly higher low tides..