Panel #1 (Title)
• This is Outer Space Pals #7. In this installment, we continue our discussion of the Moon's phases.

Panel #2
• When the Moon's position is at 3 o'clock, it lies in the opposite direction in our sky from the Sun. It rises at sunset, is highest at midnight, and sets at sunrise. This is Full Moon.

Panel #3
• Remember, the Moon goes around our clock face backward. So, if it's Full Moon (at the 3 o'clock position), it will be Last Quarter when it's at the 12 on our clock. Half a clock trip later, the Moon is at 6 o'clock. We call this phase First Quarter.
• NOTE: Astronomers alway call the phase "Last Quarter" and never "Third Quarter." That exists only in football.

Panel #4
• At clock position 4:30, the Moon's phase is a waxing gibbous; at 1:30, it is a waning gibbous.
• "Gibbous" comes from a Latin word that means "humped" and refers to the Moon's shape.
• "Waxing" means the Moon's lit face is growing, while "waning" means it's shrinking. A waxing Moon comes after New Moon up until Full Moon. A waning Moon comes after Full Moon up until New Moon.

Panel #5
• Because the Sun is the source of light, it sees everything it lights up in a full phase.
• Tara says her favorites are the "fingernail" Moons. She's referring to the thin crescents. There are two of these during each lunar month. Most people see one of these after New Moon, low in the western sky once the Sun has set. Some early risers see a thin crescent Moon low in the east before sunrise.

Panel #6
• The two thinnest crescent Moons are near, but not at, the 9 o'clock hour.

Panels #7 and #8
• One of the coolest things about the Moon is that often when its phase is a thin crescent, Earth reflects light on the dark part, making it visible. We call this reflected sunlight "earthshine." People sometimes call it, "the old Moon in the New Moon's arms."

Panel #9
• We'll learn whether Earth or the Moon is better at reflecting light in Outer Space Pals #8.