Crescent Moon

Today's the day .......................... to look at the night sky

It's a beautifully clear night tonight and the night sky is awash with twinkling stars. I don't know a lot about which one's what - but I do know that, for those that do - this is a very exciting time. Just below the crescent moon - Venus can be seen as a very bright star and Jupiter is just below it.

My little camera could only manage this picture of the crescent moon but that in itself is quite interesting. The reason why it is this shape is because the moon is nearly on a line with the Earth and sun - and its illuminated hemisphere or day side - is facing mostly away from us. We are seeing only a slender fraction of this day side: a crescent moon.

You can just about see a pale glow on the darkened portion (night side) of this crescent moon. This glow is due to light reflected from Earth's day side and it's called earthshine .........................