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Originally Posted by Jason Thompson
shouldn't the side of the moon facing the sun be illuminated?
Nope. Go out and observe the progress of the Moon as it moves across the sky. You will find that the terminator is perpendicular to the path it traces.
Jeff's diagram explains phases nicely, but I can't see how it explains why the angle of the terminator is aparently off.
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Yes I understand that the moon and sun follow an arc across the sky (roughly the ecliptic) and that the terminator on the moon is orthogonal to the tangent of the ecliptic at the point where the moon is located. But it makes for a really puzzling optical illusion when you can see the sun below the moon and yet the terminator indicates the sun is above the moon.
clop