Last-quarter moon lights up Arar and Saudi skies at dawn

The last-quarter moon gave the skies over Arar and Saudi Arabia a distinctive appearance at dawn on Friday, as the Rabi’ al-Awwal 1448 moon reached one of the main stages in its monthly cycle around Earth.

Adnan Khalifa, a member of the Astronomy and Space Club, said the moon appeared with approximately half of its disk illuminated. The last-quarter phase occurs about a week after the full moon, when the angle between the Sun, Earth and Moon reaches roughly 90 degrees.

At this stage, the moon usually rises around midnight and remains visible during the second half of the night and the morning hours. It sets near midday.

Khalifa said the last-quarter phase is also a suitable time to observe the moon’s surface. The angle at which sunlight falls creates clear shadows along the boundary between the illuminated and dark areas, making craters, mountains and other lunar terrain easier to see.

Over the coming days, the illuminated portion of the disk will gradually shrink as the moon moves into its waning crescent phase, before reaching the new moon and beginning a new lunar cycle.