The First Quarter Moon

The first quarter Moon is such a lovely thing to see.  And I am not sure exactly why, when you see it with the unaided eye.  But through a telescope it is an absolutely spectacular sight!  The reason is because during the first quarter Moon, the Sun is illuminating only half the moon, and the sunlight is raking across the surface.  What that does is show the craters and mountains is strong relief!  The surface of the Moon is so rugged and smashed by all the rocky debris left over from the formation of the solar system.  I guess I should take a close-up photograph of the surface of the Moon, one of these days.