What is waxing and waning of the moon?

A waxing moon is a moon that gets more sunlight on it as the days go by. It is after we experience a new moon up to a full moon. A waning moon is after the full moon and will remain waning until we again experience a new moon.

How do you tell if a moon is waxing or waning?

Look for the moon at sunset. If you can see it, it’s waxing. After full moon, when it’s in its waning phase, it isn’t visible at sunset. As it approaches new moon, it rises ever later in the night until it reaches its waning crescent phase, when it rises just before sunrise.

What is the waxing moon?

the moon at any time after new moon and before full moon, so called because its illuminated area is increasing.

What is a waning moon?

What is a waning moon? The moon is called a waning moon when it is in the phase in which its visible surface area is getting smaller. A waning moon occurs between a full moon (when the visible surface is fully round and lit up) and a new moon (when the surface that faces Earth is completely covered in shadow).

Why is it called a waning moon?

After the full moon, the percentage of the illuminated surface that we can see gets smaller and smaller, until it disappears and we have a new moon again. During that period of getting smaller, the moon is called a waning moon. To ‘wane’ means to get less and less, or to decline.