Here you see half of yesterday evening’s wonderful celestial see-saw – the sun sinking while the moon is rising – from our peninsular. We’re first looking to the southwest, where the sun’s last gesture is a burnishing afterglow as the islands in Great Cove, Eggemoggin Reach, and West Penobscot Bay darken.
Meanwhile, the moon already seemingly has risen from the Atlantic Ocean over our left shoulder to the southeast and is coming in our direction. It’s a brilliant waxing gibbous moon that’s high enough to still enjoy the sun’s direct light, yet sail through an already-dark sky:
As you may know, the waxing gibbous moon phase is when the moon is in the process of transforming from a half-illuminated moon to a full moon. The word “waxing” means getting larger. The word “gibbous” (pronounced “GIBB-us,” as in Joe Gibbs) is derived from the Latin word for hunch-backed. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 20, 2023.)