Moon Watching Word Search

About this puzzle

Everything you need to describe the Moon on any night of the month. The phases run from new moon through crescent, first quarter and gibbous to full moon, then back again as the Moon wanes. Waxing means the lit part is growing; waning means it is shrinking. The list also includes features you can see on the surface (craters, maria), events (eclipses, moonrise) and a special name some full moons carry.

The default layout is Medium on a 13×13 grid. Easy, Medium and Hard each use their own checked layout of the same words, and every one can be printed in standard or large print on US Letter or A4.

Word notes

Crescent

A thin sliver of Moon; in the evening sky after a new moon, the lit edge faces the setting Sun.

Gibbous

More than half lit but not yet full.

Eclipse

A lunar eclipse can only happen at full moon, when Earth's shadow falls on the Moon, sometimes turning it a coppery red.

Waxing

From new moon to full moon the lit part grows a little each night: the Moon is waxing.

Lunar

From Luna, the Latin name for the Moon.

Mare

A dark, flat plain on the Moon; Latin for “sea.”

Harvest Moon

The full moon closest to the September equinox.

Try this after the puzzle

Keep a two-week Moon diary: each evening, sketch the Moon's shape and write the phase name from the list. Solvers soon see the pattern from crescent to gibbous and back. On cloudy nights, a moon-phase calendar works as a stand-in.

All 14 words

Crescent · Gibbous · Full Moon · New Moon · Crater · Eclipse · Waxing · Waning · Lunar · Mare · Phase · Harvest Moon · Moonrise · Quarter