Most of the day yesterday was miserable: dismal rain, high wind, trees down, and power outages. Then, in the afternoon, the clouds broke, warm light seeped slowly into our dismal world, and – best of all – the sun found the waxing gibbous moon circling above in a now-blue sky. The moon’s cold countenance softened in the unusually early light and bright background.
As you probably know, a “waxing” moon’s observable surface is one that is becoming more and more illuminated for us, on its way to becoming fully Illuminated. This moon will appear roundly full to us on December 7 and then start “waning” until it disappears from view as a “new” moon soon to be born again.
A “gibbous” moon’s observable surface is more than half illuminated, but not fully so, which means it looks distorted or “humped” to us. (“Gibbous” derives from the Latin for “hump-backed.”) (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 1, 2022.)