Waning Moon

It seems that whenever I decide to image the Moon I do it when it is in a waxing phase. Below is a rare (for me) image of a waning gibbous moon.

The Moon is best imaged when it is in a gibbous or crescent phase. This is because the sunlight is shining across the surface at an angle, which causes objects such as mountains and craters to cast shadows. The shadows help highlight the details of the Moon's surface features.

Click on the image below to see the full-size version. The full-size file is fairly large (about 3.9MB).

Waning Gibbous Moon, August 26, 2010