Waxing Crescent Moon Picture

What is a waxing crescent moon? The waxing crescent moon is defined to occur when the Moon is nearly, but not precisely, on a line with the Earth and Sun. This means that part but less than one-half of the Moon is illuminated by direct sunlight, creating a crescent moon. Because the fraction of the Moon’s disk that is illuminated is increasing, we consider the Moon to be “waxing.” This waxing crescent moon picture illustrates this spectacular event.