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Nearly First Quarter Moon, Day and Night
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Two photos of the nearly first-quarter moon, taken 5 hours apart, the first during the daytime and the second at night.
This is very nearly a half moon: the exact moment of first quarter was about 4 hours after the nighttime picture. (This month, the moon was not visible here at the exact moment of first quarter, since it occurred after moonset.)
The difference in the position of the Moon in the two photos is due almost entirely to the rotation of the Earth. They were taken 5 hours apart, so we're looking at the Moon from two different angles.
With a half-moon like this, the illuminated side of the Moon is facing the Sun. In the daytime photo, the Sun is above the Moon (and to the right) in the sky. In the nighttime photo, the Sun is below (and to the right of) the Moon, below the horizon.
Of course, the difference in the apparent position of the Sun is due to the rotation of the Earth.
You can also see close-ups of the top half and the bottom half of the nighttime photo.
25 July 2012 23:48 UTC and 26 July 2012 4:48 UTC
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