“Waning Gibbous,” I’ve been called worse.

I have been a bit restless this past week and have had difficulty getting to sleep. I’m not sure what is causing my restlessness, but sometimes I just cannot clear my head and get solid rest. Fortunately, this time of year, it is quite cool at night still and mosquito free. With that said, I’ve been spending some time outside at night relaxing before bed.

Anyway, the other night I scooped up my camera from the kitchen table on my way outside during one of my semi-sleepless nights and captured a great image of the Moon that I wanted to share with everyone.

I’m not terribly familiar with the phases of the Moon, but I can say with some certainty that this phase is called, “Damned Near Full.” Anyway, I thought it might be fun to share some little known facts about our Moon.

First, the Moon is tidally locked to our planet which means that it always shows the same “face.” Although it only shows this same face, there is plenty of light on the other side. If you want to get technical, the Earth-facing side does get a touch more due to “Earth-Shine,” or the reflection of light from our planet.

Second, only twelve people have ever walked on the surface of the Moon. If I’m not mistaken, only four of them are still alive and all were from the United States. Additionally, three nations have landed on the planet (US, USSR and China respectively). On a side-note, I am very excited to see that there are now many joint ventures between governments and corporations to bring humanity to the space station and hopefully portions of the inner solar system in the coming years/decades.

Lastly, there are many interesting theories as to how the Moon came into being. Some estimate that it was created by an impact event, while others believe it was captured by Earth’s gravity. Deeper still, some suspect the origination occurred by an explosion within the Earth that jettisoned out a portion of rock that formed the planet. Anyway, there are some really interesting theories out there, some of which are outlined in this article.

What I can say with certainty is that at roughly 238,857 miles away, and despite slowly drifting from Earth at about 4cm per year, you can still pick up a lot of detail on the Moon with a steady hand and a kit lens. 

Have a wonderful and safe weekend everyone!