From Earth, the Moon looks like a round disk in the sky. At times this disk appears to have part of it cut away or is overlapped by something that is dark. The edge or line where the lighted part of the moon disk ends is called the terminator. In the Northern Hemisphere, the terminator […]
Waxing Moon vs. Waning Moon
Question: What does waxing and waning mean? Answer: The term waxing means to increase. The term waning means to decrease. Question: When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, how can you determine if the moon is waxing or waning? The moon phases in the diagram show an increase in the lighted area from day 1 to […]
Direction of the Moon’s Terminator
Question: How can one identify a waxing Moon from a waning Moon? Answer: The Moon’s terminator is an imaginary line dividing the lit and unlit parts of the Moon disk seen from Earth. A waxing Moon is growing. This means its lighted part is increasing. A waning Moon is shrinking. This means its lighted part […]