Why can I see the whole moon during various non-full-moon phases?
The dark parts of the Moon are partially illuminated by &quot;Earthshine&quot;. That is sunlight which is reflected from Earth to the Moon. Just like the ground on Earth is lit up a bit by the Moon at night, so is the ground on the Moon lit up a bit by the Earth in the lunar night. And even more so because Earth is much larger in the lunar sky, than is the Moon in our sky. And the surface of Earth is actually more reflective per area unit than is the surface of the Moon.