Moonshine

The Moon is Earth's only proper natural satellite. It is one-quarter the diameter of Earth (comparable to the width of Australia), making it the largest natural satellite in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet. 

It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and is larger than any dwarf planet. The Moon orbits Earth at an average lunar distance of 384,400 km (238,900 mi), or about 30 times Earth's diameter. Its gravitational influence produces Earth's tides and slightly lengthens Earth's day. 

The Moon is classified as a planetary-mass object and a differentiated rocky body. It lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field, and its surface gravity is about one-sixth of Earth's (0.1654 g). Jupiter's moon Io is the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a higher surface gravity and density.

The Moon is tidally locked to Earth, which means that the length of a full rotation of the Moon on its own axis (a lunar day) is the same as the synodic period, resulting in its same side (the near side) always facing Earth. The Moon's apparent size is nearly the same as that of the Sun, allowing it to cover the Sun almost completely during a total solar eclipse.

Near side of the Moon

The near side of the Moon is marked by dark volcanic maria ("seas"), which fill the spaces between bright ancient crustal highlands and prominent impact craters. The lunar surface is relatively non-reflective, with a reflectance just slightly brighter than that of worn asphalt. However, because it reflects direct sunlight, is contrasted by the relatively dark sky, and has a large apparent size when viewed from Earth, the Moon is the brightest celestial object in Earth's sky after the Sun. 

Crescent Moon

The Waxing Crescent Moon starts as the Moon becomes visible again after the New Moon conjunction, when the Sun and Earth are on opposite sides of the Moon, making it impossible to see the Moon from Earth. During this phase, the lit-up part of the Moon increases from 0.1% to 49.9%.

Waxing means that it is growing, while crescent refers to the curved sickle shape.

Traditionally, the thinnest sliver of the Waxing Crescent Moon is considered the New Moon. This traditional definition of the New Moon is still in use in some cultures, defining the month's beginning.

Earthshine

The Moon's surface reflects the Sun’s rays, and half of it is always illuminated by sunlight. Just how much of that light we can see from Earth varies every day, and we refer to this as a Moon phase.

Although only a small part of the Moon is directly illuminated by the Sun at the start of the Waxing Crescent Moon phase, the rest of the Moon is sometimes also faintly visible. The reason is that Earth reflects sunlight as a faint glow onto the Moon. This phenomenon is called earthshine or the Da Vinci glow, and it is most noticeable in April and May.

The image below is a high contrast of the above image to show the earth shine.

Equipment:
127Mak (F7.4 ) @ ISO100 for 1 second
EOS 600D on EQ5 Pro