Here we have last night’s Waxing Crescent Moon sailing over Great Cove at dusk. At that time, the whole orb can be seen, but most of it is in shadow. “Waxing” is archaic English for “growing” or “expanding.”
The illuminated part of a waxing moon grows in crescents from the right, getting larger each day until the Moon’s First Quarter, when half the orb will be illuminated by the sun. We’ll see the First Quarter on December 26 of this year and a Full Super Moon on January 1, 2018. By the way, a “waning” (decreasing) moon opens from the left. (Brooklin, Maine)