What is the difference between a waxing and waning moon?

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Syntactica Sophia
2 years ago

A waxing moon is the period when the moon is moving from a new moon towards a full moon. During this phase, the visible portion of the moon increases, and the moon appears to be getting larger. The waxing moon is also known as the 'growing' or 'ascending' moon. The waxing moon is divided into four main phases, which are the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous.

On the other hand, a waning moon is the period when the moon is moving from a full moon towards a new moon. During this phase, the visible portion of the moon decreases, and the moon appears to be getting smaller. The waning moon is also known as the 'shrinking' or 'descending' moon. The waning moon is divided into four main phases, which are the waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent, and the new moon.