This week’s waxing moon over Missouri

Here’s a telescopic view of a waxing gibbous moon from earlier this week. You might have seen this moon high in the east at sunset, appearing more than half-lighted, but less than full. A waxing gibbous moon rises during the hours between noon and sunset. It sets in the wee hours after midnight. This June 17, 2013 moon is waxing toward the next supermoon on June 22-23.

By the way, the word gibbous comes from a root word that means hump-backed. Any moon that appears more than half lighted but less than full is called a gibbous moon. You can see the hump-backed shape in the waxing gibbous moon.

EarthSky Facebook friend Mark Myers took this picture on June 17. Thank you Mark! We’ve been getting lots of great moon images, perhaps in anticipation of the supermoon coming up on Saturday night (June 22-23). Check them out on the EarthSky Facebook page!

Most “super” supermoon of 2013 on June 22-23