New Moon

The moon will reach its new phase on Sunday, December 1 at 1:21 a.m. EST or 06:21 GMT, which converts to 10:21 p.m. PST on Saturday. At that time our natural satellite will be located within Scorpius and 4.5 degrees south of the sun. While it’s new, the moon is travelling between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only reach the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the sun, the moon becomes unobservable from anywhere on Earth for about a day (except during a solar eclipse). On the evenings following the new moon phase, Earth’s planetary partner will return to shine in the western sky after sunset.