<p>To add to TidalWave's answer, here's another way to think about it. Here are some facts:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>The "horns" of the crescent always point away from the sun. </p></li>
<li><p>The sun and the moon follow <em>roughly</em> the same path through the sky on any given day; they rise in the east and set in the west.</p></li>
<li><p>The crescent is very thin only when the moon appears close to the sun in the sky.</p></li>
<li><p>A thin crescent is very dim compared to a full moon, and extraordinarily dim compared to the sun.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>If you don't understand why any of these facts are true then think about the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun in space until you do.</p>

<p>So how then can we possibly have a downward-opening thin crescent? These facts imply that this only happens when the moon appears to be very close to the sun and farther west than the sun. Which means that the moon is going to set before the sun does. So therefore the only time when such a moon is visible is <em>during the day</em>, and during the day the sun is much, much brighter than the thin crescent moon. </p>

<p>By contrast, the upward-opening crescent happens when the moon is close to the sun <em>and farther east</em>, which means that there is time <em>after</em> the sun has set but <em>before</em> the moon has set when it is still in the sky and bright enough to be seen in the dusk.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-28T00:00:36.460Z
2014-01-28T00:00:36.460Z
Eric Lippert
<p>It very much depends on where on the globe you are in terms of your latitude. From mid-northern or mid-southern latitudes the terminator (line between dark and light parts of the moon) will appear roughly vertical around midnight local time at first and third quarter ('half full'). If you observed the same phase on the same night at the same local time from the equator the terminator would be roughly horizontal. Same goes for the constellations, it took some getting used to when I visited the southern hemisphere to see Orion (and all the other constellations I was familiar with) 'upside down'. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-01T23:01:18.277Z
If I am far north of the equator and look at the moon and see it with the horns "pointing upwards" ... if I called a friend far south of the equator, what would his answer be for the direction of the horns?  Would he say "The horns are pointing up" or "The horns are pointing down"?
Kolban
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T21:34:54.463Z
@Kolban:   SIDEWAYS -- his DOWN is 90 degrees from yours (or whatever his latitude is)
ThePopMachine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T21:47:39.713Z
@ThePopMachine Man thanks for the response ... but neither my wife nor I are "good" with astronomy and this puzzle is hurting our heads.  If I am in "Toronto" (North) and see the moon with the horns pointing up ... if my wife is in Chile ...what would she see?  ... See what I think might be my possibilities at:

http://pbrd.co/1AkVrEE

(this is an image)
Kolban
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-02T22:01:53.437Z
@Kolban -- same sort of thing -- if you each look say due east, then your horizon is ~90 degrees tilted from hers (Chile spans a lot of latitude).   Since you're comparing the orientation of the Moon to your horizon, they will look however many degrees of latitude tilted w.r.t. each other.   Your 'up' is tilted toward the North Pole and hers is tilted towards the south.   The moon should me more or less pointing horns-up if you were on the equator.
ThePopMachine
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T23:25:18.787Z
2014-01-30T23:25:18.787Z
EnglishDave
<p>You have already received very good answers. The only thing I want to add is that you always see the so-called lower half of the crescent or half Moon because you always look at it in a westward direction.</p>
<p>For instance, the next time you look at a crescent Moon draw an imaginary line from the top horn to the other one and extend it more (or extending the terminator line in the case of a half Moon). If the result is a P shape and you see a downward P then you are in a westward direction (also in your case). But if the result is a q shape and you see an upward q, then you are in an eastward direction (Of course, it's also important to know the crescent or the half Moon is waxing or waning).</p>
<p>Also, if it's a regular rightward P then the west is at your right, And so on*</p>
<p>In the picture you have posted, the east direction is at the above left corner</p>
<p>*Also good in determinig the directions if you get lost in a forest or something like that.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-28T00:48:06.877Z
Whether you see the crescent or half  in as "p" or "q" shape in the east or west is dependent on whether you're observing the moon from north or south of the plane of its orbit,  the phase of the moon at the time of observation, and the time of day or night when you're observing the moon.
notovny
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-06-28T00:00:00.860Z
2023-06-28T14:19:51.313Z
2023-06-28T14:19:51.313Z
Snack Exchange
<p>Actually, you sometimes can see the Moon illuminated by the Sun from the top, and therein lies the answer to your question - during day. When looking at the Moon during night time, the side of the Earth where you're standing and looking at it is pointed away from the Sun, while this is reversed during the day. The illuminated side of the Moon is also facing the Sun, of course. So we have:</p>

<ul>
<li>Night time on Earth: Side illuminated by the Sun is "below us" and that's where the Moon is illuminated from too.</li>
<li>Day time on Earth: Side illuminated by the Sun is "above us" and that's where the Moon is illuminated from too:<br /><br />
<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/EkzCL.jpg" alt="enter image description here"><br />
<sup><strong>Blue Moon in the daytime sky</strong> (Photograph source: <a href="http://www.lpod.org/?p=1406" rel="noreferrer">LPOD</a>)</sup></li>
</ul>

<p>So, the direction from which the Moon is illuminated from is the same as the direction the Earth is, both illuminated by the same celestial body - our Sun. So, when you see the Sun high above the skies, and if the Moon is visible during daytime, it's going to be illuminated from the same direction from which you are, and during night time, when you'd expect the Sun "below where you're standing", it's illuminated from that direction.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-27T23:56:24.573Z
You're awesome!
kBisla
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-28T14:24:10.587Z
I removed some distracting comments. @Envite if you still believe that the correct answer is not represented or misrepresented feel free to post your own answer.
called2voyage
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-27T22:43:19.497Z
2014-01-27T23:36:04.320Z
2014-01-27T23:36:04.320Z
TildalWave
<p>Even if we see a crescent moon, always the lower circumference is visible. Why we never see this? <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/bD52c.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>PS: this image is vertically inverted.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-28T23:15:21.643Z
The moon has no "lower" or "upper" half. Up and down are local coordinates and point in different directions for people at different places on Earth.
Walter
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-30T19:24:25.670Z
Can you suggest a better wording?
kBisla
<the-moon>
When we see half moon, why is it always the lower half?
kBisla
# When we see half moon, why is it always the lower half?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-27)

Even if we see a crescent moon, always the lower circumference is visible. Why we never see this? ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/bD52c.jpg)

PS: this image is vertically inverted.

**Tags:** the-moon
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The moon has no "lower" or "upper" half. Up and down are local coordinates and point in different directions for people at different places on Earth.  
> **username_0**: Can you suggest a better wording?  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2014-01-27. Score: 19 | Accepted answer

Actually, you sometimes can see the Moon illuminated by the Sun from the top, and therein lies the answer to your question - during day. When looking at the Moon during night time, the side of the Earth where you're standing and looking at it is pointed away from the Sun, while this is reversed during the day. The illuminated side of the Moon is also facing the Sun, of course. So we have:

* Night time on Earth: Side illuminated by the Sun is "below us" and that's where the Moon is illuminated from too.
* Day time on Earth: Side illuminated by the Sun is "above us" and that's where the Moon is illuminated from too:  
    
  ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/EkzCL.jpg)  
  **Blue Moon in the daytime sky** (Photograph source: [LPOD](http://www.lpod.org/?p=1406))

So, the direction from which the Moon is illuminated from is the same as the direction the Earth is, both illuminated by the same celestial body - our Sun. So, when you see the Sun high above the skies, and if the Moon is visible during daytime, it's going to be illuminated from the same direction from which you are, and during night time, when you'd expect the Sun "below where you're standing", it's illuminated from that direction.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: You're awesome!  
> **username_9**: I removed some distracting comments. @Envite if you still believe that the correct answer is not represented or misrepresented feel free to post your own answer.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-01-28. Score: 8

To add to TidalWave's answer, here's another way to think about it. Here are some facts:

* The "horns" of the crescent always point away from the sun.
* The sun and the moon follow *roughly* the same path through the sky on any given day; they rise in the east and set in the west.
* The crescent is very thin only when the moon appears close to the sun in the sky.
* A thin crescent is very dim compared to a full moon, and extraordinarily dim compared to the sun.

If you don't understand why any of these facts are true then think about the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun in space until you do.

So how then can we possibly have a downward-opening thin crescent? These facts imply that this only happens when the moon appears to be very close to the sun and farther west than the sun. Which means that the moon is going to set before the sun does. So therefore the only time when such a moon is visible is *during the day*, and during the day the sun is much, much brighter than the thin crescent moon.

By contrast, the upward-opening crescent happens when the moon is close to the sun *and farther east*, which means that there is time *after* the sun has set but *before* the moon has set when it is still in the sky and bright enough to be seen in the dusk.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-01-30. Score: 3

It very much depends on where on the globe you are in terms of your latitude. From mid-northern or mid-southern latitudes the terminator (line between dark and light parts of the moon) will appear roughly vertical around midnight local time at first and third quarter ('half full'). If you observed the same phase on the same night at the same local time from the equator the terminator would be roughly horizontal. Same goes for the constellations, it took some getting used to when I visited the southern hemisphere to see Orion (and all the other constellations I was familiar with) 'upside down'.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: If I am far north of the equator and look at the moon and see it with the horns "pointing upwards" ... if I called a friend far south of the equator, what would his answer be for the direction of the horns?  Would he say "The horns are pointing up" or "The horns are pointing down"?  
> **username_5**: @Kolban:   SIDEWAYS -- his DOWN is 90 degrees from yours (or whatever his latitude is)  
> **username_4**: @ThePopMachine Man thanks for the response ... but neither my wife nor I are "good" with astronomy and this puzzle is hurting our heads.  If I am in "Toronto" (North) and see the moon with the horns pointing up ... if my wife is in Chile ...what would she see?  ... See what I think might be my possibilities at:  http://pbrd.co/1AkVrEE  (this is an image)  
> **username_5**: @Kolban -- same sort of thing -- if you each look say due east, then your horizon is ~90 degrees tilted from hers (Chile spans a lot of latitude).   Since you're comparing the orientation of the Moon to your horizon, they will look however many degrees of latitude tilted w.r.t. each other.   Your 'up' is tilted toward the North Pole and hers is tilted towards the south.   The moon should me more or less pointing horns-up if you were on the equator.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2023-06-28. Score: 0

You have already received very good answers. The only thing I want to add is that you always see the so-called lower half of the crescent or half Moon because you always look at it in a westward direction.

For instance, the next time you look at a crescent Moon draw an imaginary line from the top horn to the other one and extend it more (or extending the terminator line in the case of a half Moon). If the result is a P shape and you see a downward P then you are in a westward direction (also in your case). But if the result is a q shape and you see an upward q, then you are in an eastward direction (Of course, it's also important to know the crescent or the half Moon is waxing or waning).

Also, if it's a regular rightward P then the west is at your right, And so on\*

In the picture you have posted, the east direction is at the above left corner

\*Also good in determinig the directions if you get lost in a forest or something like that.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Whether you see the crescent or half  in as "p" or "q" shape in the east or west is dependent on whether you're observing the moon from north or south of the plane of its orbit,  the phase of the moon at the time of observation, and the time of day or night when you're observing the moon.  

---

