The Moon

This is a waxing gibbous moon photographed on July 20, 2010 in Barton, Vermont. I found a decent explanation of the names of the phases of the moon at http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question3.html. They used a nice drawing (or, cartoon) to explain gibbous, waxing and waning:

Waxing means growing larger; waning means growing smaller. Gibbous means “Characterized by convexity; protuberant; Phase of moon or planet between first quarter and full or between full and last quarter; Humpbacked (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gibbous.”). And crescent means “any shape resembling the curved shape of the moon in its first or last quarters.” I had to draw a lot of pictures and think this all through several times before I became comfortable with the phrase waxing gibbous moon. I hope it is easier for you!

There is quite a bit of distortion on the right side of the photograph here. I think it’s from the 250mm lens because it showed up on the unedited raw image that this jpeg was created from. John told me to photoshop it out, but I don’t have the energy for doing that! We’ll all just have to live with it.

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Lens Day: Sky

Waxing gibbous moon, 88% of full. Taken with Canon XSi, shutter priority, 1/640 sec
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I am finally beginning to figure out how to take these photos on the Canon.

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(Nearly) Full Buck Moon

Waxing gibbous moon: 91% of full

From the Farmer's Almanac:

Bucks begin to grow new antlers at this time. This full Moon was also known as the Thunder Moon, because thunderstorms are so frequent during this month.
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I have been trying to take moon photos at night with my Canon XSi. This is my best shot from this past week and was taken after 11pm EDT (-5 GMT) on Monday, July 14. It has too much glare and the clouds are out of focus. This was a magical night with the mist pouring over the bog in the warm summer air and thunder clouds floating all around. The smear of light on the top left is Jupiter. I learned this from Starry Nights Online. Try it!

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Sky Watch Friday: Waxing Gibbous Moon

76% of full taken on Wednesday night, 14 May 2008

I suffered black fly bites for this shot! This month's full moon will be on Tuesday, May 20th, 2:13 GMT. It will be a Full Flower Moon: "In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon." (from Farmer's Almanac: Full Moon Names and Their Meanings) There's no telling if the skies will be good on that night, so I take 'em when I get 'em. I love the color of the sky and the slight mist from the bog as it rose to the moon. When clicked, this photo will open, full size, in a new window.

From Earth & Sky:

A waxing gibbous moon appears high in the east at sunset. It’s nearly, but not quite, a full moon . . . appearing more than half lighted but less than full. This moon phase comes between one and two weeks after new moon.

The moon has moved in its orbit so that it’s now relatively far from the sun in our sky. A waxing gibbous moon rises during the hours between noon and sunset. It sets in the wee hours after midnight. 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.

The word “gibbous” comes from a root word that means “hump–backed.” You can see the hump–backed shape of the waxing gibbous moon.

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Full Pink Moon

Full Pink Moon — April: This name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month's celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn. from Full Moon Names and Their Meanings.

The calendar says the full moon will be on April 20 (in two days). I took this photo on April 17a at approximately 7 PM. It came out well so I'm using it as my full moon photograph for the Full Pink Moon. The moon you actually see here in the photo is a waxing gibbous moon — 95% of full. Waxing gibbous moon is nearly as good a phrase as Full Pink Moon so I get to use two great phrases instead of one!

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