Wet Moon

A wet moon (also called a Cheshire moon) is a lunar phase when the "horns" of the crescent moon point up at an angle, away from the horizon, so the moon's crescent takes on the appearance of a bowl or a smile. A wet moon occurs when the crescent moon is near the horizon at a point more or less directly above the sun's (invisible) position below the horizon. This in turn is determined by the earth's and moon's positions in their orbits, the inclination of these orbits relative one another and to the earth's axis, and observer's latitude on the earth. Wet moons occur routinely in the tropics (where the sun and moon rise and set nearly vertically), and rarely in polar regions (where the sun and moon rise and set at a glancing angle or not at all).