A budding astrophotographer took this image of the crescent moon from the Pacific Northwest.
John Nelson took the image on May 31 using a Canon 60D camera attached to an Explore Scientific 127mm telescope. Nelson had long-planned to take a photo of the crescent moon.
"I took up astrophotography last year and have been fairly steep on the learning curve ever since. One image I've always wanted to capture was the new crescent moon. This past May the skies cleared over the Pacific Northwest and I had the opportunity," Nelson wrote in an email to Space.com.
The moon is a sphere that travels once around the Earth every 29.5 days. As it does so, it is illuminated from varying angles by the sun. A crescent moon is part way between a half moon and a new moon, or between a new moon and a half moon. [Moon Phases Explained (Infographic)]
To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo or video that you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
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