A moon phase that looks like less than half a circle from Earth.

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Multiple Choice

A moon phase that looks like less than half a circle from Earth.

Explanation:
How much of the Moon’s sunlit face you can see from Earth determines the phase. When we can see less than half of the illuminated portion, the Moon appears as a crescent—a thin curved sliver. This happens around the time of the New Moon, either just after it (waxing crescent) or just before it again (waning crescent). The other terms describe different amounts of illumination: a gibbous Moon is more than half lit but not full, a New Moon shows no illuminated face to us, and a Full Moon is fully illuminated. So the scenario “less than half illuminated” corresponds to a crescent Moon.

How much of the Moon’s sunlit face you can see from Earth determines the phase. When we can see less than half of the illuminated portion, the Moon appears as a crescent—a thin curved sliver. This happens around the time of the New Moon, either just after it (waxing crescent) or just before it again (waning crescent). The other terms describe different amounts of illumination: a gibbous Moon is more than half lit but not full, a New Moon shows no illuminated face to us, and a Full Moon is fully illuminated. So the scenario “less than half illuminated” corresponds to a crescent Moon.

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