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Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace
Explanation:
Half way between New Moon and Full Moon is
the Moon's first
quarter phase.
That's a quarter of the way around its
moonthly orbit.
At the first quarter phase, half
the Moon's visible
side
is illuminated by sunlight.
For the Moon's third quarter phase, half way between
Full Moon and New Moon, sunlight illuminates the other
half of the visible lunar disk.
At both first and third quarter phases,
the terminator, or shadow line separating the lunar night and day,
runs down the middle.
Near the terminator,
long shadows bring lunar craters and
mountains in to sharp relief, making the quarter phases a good time
to observe the Moon.
But in case you missed some,
all the quarter
phases of the Moon
and their calendar dates during 2022
can be found in this well-planned array of telephoto images.
Of course, you
can observe
a first quarter Moon tonight.
International:
Observe the Moon Night
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon
Publications with words: Moon
See also: