Moon Phases

"Waxing" means growing and "waning" means shrinking. One appropriate definition of "gibbous" is "swollen on one side."

Notice the solar eclipse at phase 0.50! In reality, the Moon's orbit is slightly tilted, so solar eclipses are rare, not every month. Try a phase of 0.5001 for a cool view of an eclipse (be sure to use Earth View).