which of the following best describes why the moon goes through phases? which of the following best describes why the moon goes through phases? earth's shadow falls on different parts of the moon at different times. the moon is somewhat flattened and disk-like, and appears more or less round depending on the precise angle from which we see it we see only part of the lit-up face of the moon depending on its position relative to earth and sun (elongation angle) the sunlight reflected from earth lights up the moon but is less effective when the moon is lower in the sky than when it is higher in the sky