See the moon cozy up to a fading Mars tonight (March 8)

Graphics showing the moon near to mars in the night sky. .

Saturday finds the moon in a waxing gibbous phase.

Of all the phases that the moon goes through over 29.5 days, a waxing gibbous is probably the most frequently observed. The word gibbous is derived from the Latin gibbus, which literally means "hump." An uncommon word to be sure, but in describing the shape of the moon now, it is quite correct.