During such a busy stretch for stargazing, it can be hard to keep track of all that’s happening in the solar system, including what we can see from our backyards.

There are meteor showers, different moon phases, and planetary parades where four or five bright planets are visible to the naked eye at one time.

On Monday night, Aug. 11, the moon will be in its waning gibbous phase at roughly 94% illuminated after this past weekend’s full moon, according to NASA.

The waning gibbous phase occurs when the lit-up part of the moon’s face shrinks from about 100% to 50%. Waning refers to the lit up portion of the moon shrinking, while gibbous refers to its oval-to-round shape, according to Time and Date.

There are eight lunar phases of the moon altogether, according to NASA. 

As the Earth orbits the sun, the sun’s light beams onto Earth and the moon. This light illuminates half of the earth and reflects off the surface of the moon, creating moonlight. 

Depending on the position of the sun, the moon, and Earth, the moon can look fuller or like just a slice. These differences in appearance are called moon phases, and the cycle repeats about once a month.

There are also names for each of the 12 full moons, including the most recent one, the Sturgeon Moon, named after a fish dating back millions of years ago. The annual Sturgeon moon peaked early Saturday morning, Aug. 9, at 3:54 a.m. ET.

Here’s a guide to the moon phases, what they look like, and what’s to come over the next few months.

When is the next full moon?

The next full moon will be on Sunday, Sept. 7, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It’s called the Full Corn Moon, and it will begin to rise at 2:09 p.m. ET. 

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Full Corn Moon is called such because from late summer into early fall, that’s when corn is harvested in the northern U.S. It’s often called the Corn Moon, the Corn Maker Moon (Western Abenaki people), and the Corn Harvest Moon (Dakota people).

What are the different moon phases and what do they mean?

According to NASA, the eight phases of the moon are:

  1. New moon (also known as the invisible phase) – The illuminated side of the moon is facing the sun and the night side is facing earth. 
  2. Waxing crescent – Calling it a “silver sliver” of the moon, NASA said this phase occurs when the illuminated half of the moon faces mostly away from earth. Here on earth, we can only see a small portion of the moon’s illuminated side.
  3. First quarter – This phase occurs when the moon is a quarter of the way through its journey. Here on earth, moonwatchers see only half of the illuminated half of the moon during this phase. The first quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight. This moon is high in the sky in the evening.
  4. Waxing gibbous – This phase occurs when most of the moon’s dayside is in view, making it appear brighter in the sky.
  5. Full moon – The moon is completely illuminated during this phase. The moon is opposite the Sun, allowing us to see the moon’s dayside. The full moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. 
  6. Waning gibbous – The moon heads back towards the sun. The lighted side of the moon appears to shrink during this phase. 
  7. Last quarter – During this phase, the moon looks like it’s half illuminated. Moonwatchers are seeing half of the half of the moon that’s illuminated by the Sun. 
  8. Waning crescent – By this point, the moon is almost back to its dayside directly facing the sun, allowing us to see just a thin curve.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.