So not alot of Explanation needed here! I took this with my Canon T3 through my 8" Meade Telescope. Not really anything done to the picture itself. So with that said let's move on. Of course the Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is a 1/4 the diameter of Earth with only 1/81 of the mass. It is also as most know the only celestial body aside from Earth that man has stepped foot on. Of Course that being from the years 1969-1972. The Moon currently have two NASA satellites orbiting it called the Grail Spacecraft. Of which are studying the Moon and looking closely at the far side of the Moon. Remember there is no so called "Dark Side of the Moon". The Moon takes 27.5 days to orbit around the Earth, it is what we call Tidally Locked. Which means we only see one side of the Moon at all times. The distance of the Moon from Earth is about 240,000 miles. It is also said that the Moon is moving away from the Earth at a rate of about 4 cm( 1.5" ) a year. We know this precisely because when the Astronauts landed on the Moon they left some reflectors on it's surface. We now shine a laser at these reflectors and can measure the distance by how long it takes for the light to go to the Moon then make it back to us. That number is about 2.6 seconds for the round trip of the light.
   The Moon as many have noticed has phases. The phases start in the waxing phase called a Waxing Crescent. This is what you see in the picture. The next phase is the First Quarter, when half of the moon that we see is illuminated. The next Phase is the Waxing Gibbous, it is when more than 50% of the Moon is illuminated. Then the Full Moon. After the Full phase it then goes into the Waning Phase starting with the Waning Gibbous which is the exact same as the Waxing just in reverse. Then Second Quarter followed by the Waning Crescent. Then Finally the New Moon.