I've been researching what lunar phase we're in these days, and honestly, it's more interesting than I thought. The thing is, the Moon constantly changes, and it's not the same to observe it every night, you know? Recently, it was in the waning gibbous phase, almost full but already starting to diminish, and it looked incredible in the night sky from Mexico with nearly 95% of its surface illuminated.

What caught my attention is that after the full moon comes this waning gibbous phase where the lunar disk still appears almost complete but the illumination begins to gradually decrease. It's unusual because it seems like it's still full, but technically, it's already in transition. Then comes the last quarter, where only the left half is illuminated, and that occurs around the 11th of each month in the lunar cycle.

If you want to see the lunar details clearly, the best conditions are during the waxing and waning gibbous phases because shadows and the terminator line highlight the craters and mountains a lot. It almost looks 3D. The eight phases in order are: New, Waxing, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning.

During the last quarter, the left half shines, and according to NASA, it's visible from midnight to around noon. Knowing which lunar phase we're in really helps plan better observation nights, especially if we want to see surface details. Does anyone else regularly look at the Moon, or am I the only one who’s weird?