ワードアップ英会話 WORD UP ENGLISH CLASS | 日記 | There's a full moon tonight!

Tonight, on March 23rd, 2016, there is a full moon. It's partly cloudy today here in Yokohama, but hopefully the sky will be clear enough tonight to see it.

If you follow this link, you will see an image that shows the phases of the moon, and the vocabulary used to describe them.

The full moon occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. The new moon occurs when the moon is between the earth and the sun.

When the visible, lit part of the moon is getting bigger day by day, the moon is said to be waxing. When it is getting smaller, it is said to be waning.

In a few days, we will be able to see the waning gibbous moon. "Gibbous" is the term used when the visible moon is between 50% and 100% lit up by the sun, so that it kind of resembles a rugby ball.

The term for the next phase, when exactly 50% of the visible moon is lit, is a little confusing. In everyday conversation, we usually call this the half moon, since half of the visible portion is lit. But in terms of the phases of the moon, it is called a quarter moon since, from the full moon or the new moon and back around again, the process of going through the complete cycle is 25% finished, or one quarter (1/4). So in about a week we will be able to see a first quarter half moon, or waning quarter half moon. But again, in regular conversation, most people just call it a half moon!

Finally, when the lit portion of the visible moon is between 0% and 50% it is called a crescent moon. In about 10 days we will be able to see a waning crescent moon, as the lit portion gets smaller and smaller until it becomes the dark new moon. If the word "crescent" looks familiar to you, you might know it from the French word "croissant," which of course we all know and love as the crescent-shaped, buttery, flaky pastry from France!

So, if you have time and the sky is clear tonight, be sure to go outside and check out the beautiful first full moon of spring!