The lunar nodes are the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic, which is the Sun's path, seen from Earth. Two to three times a year, the New Moon phase coincides with the Moon reaching the lunar nodes of its orbit. = First Quarter, = Full Moon, = Third QuarterĬalendar with Moon phases Causes Solar Eclipses The other primary Moon phase symbols in calendars: The symbol for New Moon in modern calendars is a filled, black circle. In addition, there are four intermediate Moon phases the Waxing Crescent Moon, the Waxing Gibbous Moon, the Waning Gibbous Moon, and the Waning Crescent Moon. The next three are the First Quarter Moon (Half Moon), the Full Moon, and the Third Quarter Moon (Half Moon). The New Moon is the first primary Moon phase. In western culture, we divide the lunar month into four primary and four intermediate Moon phases. It takes around 29.5 days to move through the eight Moon phases. This traditional definition of the New Moon is still in use in some cultures, defining the beginning of the months in the Islamic calendar. The initial period, as only the thinnest sliver of a Crescent Moon becomes visible, used to be called New Moon, while the darkest phase was called Dark Moon. February's New Moon marks the beginning of the Lunar Year in the Chinese Calendar.Ībout a day after the New Moon conjunction, the Moon becomes visible again. The Moon guides the dates of many religious and cultural holidays around the world. Sleep, crime, and menstruation: how Moon phases affect humans Religious and Cultural Significance These tides are known as spring tides or king tides. During these Moon phases, the Moon and the Sun's gravitational forces combine to push the ocean’s water in the same direction. The greatest difference between high and low tide is around New Moon and Full Moon. Is there a dark side of the Moon? Higher Tides at New Moon Just how much of that light we can see from Earth varies every day, and we call this a Moon phase. Half of the Moon’s surface is always illuminated by direct sunlight, except during lunar eclipses when Earth casts its shadow on the Moon. The Moon: Our natural satellite A Good Night for StargazingĪs New Moon nights are dark, they are often the best time to view other celestial objects like planets, meteor showers, and deep sky objects such as star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. With specialist equipment, it is sometimes possible to detect a vanishingly thin lunar crescent in the blue sky at the precise moment of New Moon. The Moon's orbit around the Earth is slightly tilted, which means that-more often than not-the Sun, Moon and Earth are not perfectly aligned at New Moon. In fact, this is the only occasion that the New Moon is 'perfect'. It rises and sets around the same time as the Sun, bringing it too close to the Sun’s glare to be seen with the naked eye.įor all that, however, there is one special occasion when we can see a New Moon: during a solar eclipse. The New Moon is up in the daytime sky.The alignment of the Sun, the Moon, and Earth leaves the side of the Moon that faces Earth in darkness.There are two reasons why we can't see the New Moon: Change location We Can't See the New Moon Times and dates are based on the local time in Odesa.

Times for the New Moon vary by time zone. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays)Īt New Moon, the Sun, the Moon, and Earth are in alignment.

Moon night sky