Waning gibbous moon phase

High Resolution JPEG Picture of The waning gibbous moon is a phase of the lunar cycle that occurs after the full moon. During this phase, the moon is gradually decreasing in its illumination by the sun. It is typically visible late at night and into the morning. At the beginning of this phase, it still appears mostly illuminated, more than half full, but as the days progress, the visible portion continues to shrink. The waning gibbous phase lasts approximately one week, eventually leading to the third quarter moon. The term "waning" refers to the decreasing sunlight reflecting off the moon's surface, while "gibbous" describes the shape of the moon when it's more than half but less than fully illuminated.