After less than an hour of my first sunset pic on my previous post, here's comes the moon! My first moon photo for this year! It is shaped like the letter C hanging above the western sky with the planet Mercury below. How did I know it was Mercury? Because it was not as bright as Venus and it was smaller! I just read on EarthSky.org that it is in fact Mercury, the elusive little planet ... https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-planets-jan3-jan4-jan5-2022/ Can you spot it in my photos? Just look for that faintly glowing white speck halfway between the crescent moon and the horizon! The moon was in a waxing crescent phase on that particular day, the 7th of January. 🌙 A waxing crescent is the first stage after the new moon which occured on January 2. It had 27 percent of brightness, because that was only the area of the moon illuminated by the sun. I was just lucky to witness this sky phenomena. The sky was covered with altocumulus undulatus clouds, which were rounded masses composed primarily of water droplets. When these clouds are close to the sun or moon, crowns are form. This is due to diffraction or deflection. The light waves strike the droplets and the outgoing lights then form a brilliant ring or halo around the moon. You can see in my pic the glowing light form around the moon, that is called a "lunar corona" which are common when these altocumulus clouds are in the sky during a moonlit night! You see, for the moon to glow brightly, it needs these clouds which we thought would block the moon's light, but no... So, in life, we need the challenges which we think will hinder us from succeeding, but in reality, they will help us bring out our inner glow of self-confidence and intelligence, allowing us to shine brightly... that is, for us to show and put to use our talents and abilities that will help us succeed in life!😀 So, cheer up Noisemates, the cloudy days in our lives aren't all gloomy and dreary but also crowns! Crowns of success... 😇 #Moonbeams🌕 @Mitochondria #Originalcontentcreator💯 #Nofilter Certified #opacarophile and #nephophile North Caloocan, Philippines🇵🇭