'Earthshine' Illuminates Stunning Crescent Moon (Photo)

Earthshine Illuminates Waxing Crescent Moon Nov. 2012

Earthshine illuminates this waxing crescent moon in this photo taken by Vegastar Carpentier on Nov. 17, 2012 from Paris, France. Carpentier used a Canon EOS 1000D camera and a refractor 1000mm telescope to capture the image. (Image credit: Vegastar Carpentier)

A waxing crescent moon is aglow with earthshine in this beautiful night sky photo.

Photographer VegaStar Carpentier took this photo on Nov. 17 from Paris, France. Carpentier used a Canon EOS 1000D camera and a refractor 1000mm telescope to capture the image.

When sunlight reflects off the Earth and shines onto the moon, the phenomenon is called "earthshine." A crescent moon is between a new moon and a half moon. The moon in this image is waxing at 16.7 percent of lunar illumination.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send images, comments and location information to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

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Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.