NASA states the lunar cycle lasts roughly 29.5 days as the Moon orbits Earth. The figure appears in two separate reports.

A separate report gives an approximate 28-day cycle, noting that because of the length, moon phases do not repeat exactly from month to month.

Both reports list the eight lunar phases as New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, and Waning Crescent.

The term Harvest Moon originates from North American indigenous peoples who tracked time by lunar phases.