At first light yesterday, the moon was sailing high and far in a cold, blue sky, no longer a full Wolf Moon; now, it is a disappearing Egg Moon. It is “waning” (losing luminosity) and “gibbous” (humped, malformed). It was at a reported 80 percent luminosity to us from reflected sunlight in this image.
The moon will continue to lose that luminosity until it disappears from unaided sight on February 9, when it becomes a “new moon” (no visible moon). After that, it slowly will become a “waxing” moon (gaining luminosity) that again will become gibbous after the sun illuminates 50 percent or more of the surface that we see, but not all of that surface. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on January 30, 2024.)