The Old Moon in the New Moon's Cradle

A telescope view of the new moon captured in Arizona, USA. It’s a beautiful sight for a skywatcher. As the earthshine is the faint glow you can sometimes see around a new moon. It happens because sunlight reflects off the Earth and illuminates the part of the moon that’s not directly facing the sun. This creates a ghostly, almost cradled effect, where the thin crescent of the new moon seems to be held by a dimmer, rounder shape.