The Old Field Tree

Early in the morning during late July, I looked up at the sky and noticed something strange. It was the crescent moon, but behind the crescent was the shadowy figure of the full moon. Am I imagining things, I thought? It was 4:30 am, after all. But I knew what I saw. It was the full moon being illuminated during the waning phase.

Apparently, this is a phenomenon called Earthshine, and it happens shortly before or after a new moon. Light is reflected from the Earth and illuminates the portion of the moon not lit by the sun.

According to some folk tales, Earthshine was sometimes referred to as “the old moon in the new moon’s arms,” or “the new moon in the old moon’s arms,” depending on if the Earthshine was present during a waxing (growing towards a full moon) or waning (disappearing towards a new moon) period.