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What is the New Moon?
When asked, most who answer will say that it is the first sliver of the moon low in the evening as seen in the next photo.
However, the above photo is actually a photo of the crescent moon, a day or so after the new moon. In fact, the new moon is not normally visible to earthbound viewers, because it is inline with the sun and is in the sky only during the day.
But if this is true, why is there a photo gallery in this section for the new moon?
The only time to see Solar Eclipses!
Think about it, if the moon is in line with the sun, then there is a time when you can see the new moon, and that would be during solar eclipses.
Well, you will see the new moon only during the time that the moon is blocking the sun′s light. Yes, that is the only time the new moon can actually be seen.
(m5pr-sun-total-1999-total-eclipse) New Moon During Total Eclipse of Sun
So, Why would we want to know when the New Moon is?
As mentioned in the previous section, it is the only time for Solar Eclipses, but there is another reason for going outside to look up during a New Moon. So, what is that reason. Again, think about it.
If, during the New Moon, the moon is only in the sky during the day, what does that do to the night time sky.
You guessed it, it is totally dark during the night time! So, this is one of the best times to go outside to look at all the other celestial objects, such as Astroids, Comets, Constelations, Dwarf Planets, Galaxies, Planets, Planet Rings, Planet Moons, Messier Objects, Milky Way, Nebulaes, Stars, Star Clusters, Transits, Zodiac, and well this is just the short list.
Prior to creating this page, I had never heard of a Black Moon and when I heard the expression, I just had to find the answer to the question, What is a Black Moon?
What is a Black Moon?
First, a black moon is a rare occurrence as you can see from the index below.
Second, a Black Moon is defined as the second New Moon in a calendar month. But isn′s the second Full moon in a calendar month a Blue Moon. Yes, that is true, but a new moon is nothing even close to a full moon, instead, it is the absence of the any moon on a given night. Thus, it is called a Black moon.
This explanation made total sense to me.
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