news sciences: New moon is June 3

Extremely thin crescent against blue background.

Youngest possible lunar crescent, with the moon’s age being exactly zero when this photo was taken — at the instant of new moon – 07:14 UTC on July 8, 2013. Image by Thierry Legault.

The next new moon falls on June 3, 2019, at 10:02 UTC; translate UTC to your time. New moons can’t be seen, or at least they can’t without special equipment and a lot of moon-watching experience. The photo at the top of this post shows the moon at the instant it became new in July 2013. When the moon is new, it’s most nearly between the Earth and sun for any particular month. There’s a new moon about once a month, because the moon takes about a month to orbit Earth. The moon is nearly between the Earth and sun. In most months, there’s no eclipse because, most of the time, the new moon passes not in front of the sun, but simply near it in our sky.

Either way – in front of the sun or just near it – on the day of new moon, the moon travels across the sky with the sun during the day, hidden in the sun’s glare.

A day or two after each month’s new moon, a slim crescent moon always becomes visible in the west after sunset. In the language of astronomy, this slim crescent is called a young moon by astronomers. When you can you expect to see the moon in the evening again? Probably around June 4, 5 or 6, when it’ll appear in the sunset direction for a brief time after sunset.

New moons, and young moons, are fascinating to many. The Farmer’s Almanac, for example, still offers information on gardening by the moon. And many cultures have holidays based on moon phases.

Young moon swings by the planets Mercury and Mars in early June 2019.

You might be able to see the young moon and the planet Mercury with the eye alone on June 4. But just in case, you might want to bring binoculars! Read more.

Bottom line: New moon is June 3, 2019, at 10:02 UTC; translate UTC to your time.

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from EarthSky http://bit.ly/2WkA18l