Yesterday, we watched the sun go down and leave an orange afterglow above Deer Isle, while a brilliant moon hung over our shoulders like a rough gemstone.
Technically, the moon was in a waxing gibbous phase and at 81 percent illumination. It is waxing (getting more luminous) daily now and will be full on December 18.
While waxing, the moon is gibbous because it is more than half illuminated and distorted to our eyes. The word “gibbous” is derived from the Latin for “hump” and “hump-backed”; the word “waxing” is from the Old English word for “growing.” (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 14, 2021.)