Repost: Understanding waxing gibbous moon
Posted: November 5, 2011 | Author: Leaders in Science | Filed under: Astronomy, Earth Science |
Originally posted May 13, 2011.
from the Moonies at EarthSky.org:
People sometimes see a waxing gibbous moon in the afternoon, shortly after moonrise, while it’s ascending in the east as the sun is descending in the west. It’s easy to see a waxing gibbous moon in the daytime because, at this phase of the moon, a large fraction of the moon’s day side is facing our way. Thus a waxing gibbous moon is more noticeable in the sky than a crescent moon, with only a slim fraction of the lunar day side visible. Also, a waxing gibbous moon is far from the sun on the sky’s dome, so the sun’s glare isn’t hiding it from view.
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