Here's a breakdown:

* New Moon: The moon is invisible to us as it's between the Earth and the Sun.

* Waxing Crescent: A sliver of the moon becomes visible, getting larger each night.

* First Quarter: Half of the moon is illuminated, looking like a quarter.

* Waxing Gibbous: More than half of the moon is illuminated, getting rounder each night.

* Full Moon: The entire face of the moon is illuminated, and it appears brightest.

After the full moon, the phases transition to waning, where the moon appears to shrink.