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Crescent moon with earthshine

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December 4, 2013

View larger. | EarthSky Facebook friend Abhijit Juvekar captured this crescent moon with earthshine on December 1, 2013. Thank you, Abhijit!

Here’s the moon on December 1, a waxing crescent moon in the evening sky. You’ll see a moon much like this, but with an increasingly fatter crescent, in the coming evenings. Abhijit Juvekar, who captured and labeled this photo, wrote:

The bright area is direct sunlight falling on moon while the faint area is called ‘earthshine.’

Earthshine is also sunlight, reflected from the Earth and falling back onto the moon’s surface.

Image shot using Canon EOS 550D with Sigma 70-300mm Lens.
Place – Lonavala, India.
1 Dec 2013

Thank you, Abhijit!

Watch for the young moon, with earthshine, near Venus on December 4

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December 4, 2013

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.