New Moon: Definition, Phases, and Significance in Physics

Moon is the earth's only satellite. It is the closest celestial object to our planet and is one of the most studied events, as researchers have been looking into it for years. The sun and moon are locked tidally. It stabilizes the Earth's orbit on its axis, making it a livable planet.

The Moon's atmosphere is very thin. Among the 200+ moons that orbit planets, the moon is the fifth largest in the solar system. It is thought to have been formed following a Mars-sized object colliding with Earth.

What is the New Moon?

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The first phase of the lunar cycle is termed as the New Moon. When the sun and the moon are in the same ecliptic longitude the New moon occurs. When the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth align, the side of the Moon that faces Earth is dark, which is called a conjunction or Syzygy.

In the daytime, the New Moon can't be seen with the naked eye because it rises and sets at the same time as the Sun. During this phase the lunar disks are usually not visible to the naked eyes, except during solar eclipses when the disk is silhouetted.

The New Moon is a satellite of Earth and is subject to the same phenomena as our home planet. In the daytime, the New Moon can't be seen with the naked eye because it rises and sets at the same time as the Sun.

New Moon refers to the first new crescent moon you can see after the thin crescent phase that happens after it's conjunction with the Sun. The waxing crescent is thin and low on the western horizon after sunset, almost parallel to the line of sunset.

According to astronomy, a New moon day is considered the most important day for new beginnings. It is believed that most people start their new work journey as they feel that the moon’s energy will favor them.

Moon Cycle

The phases of the moon are divided into eight helpful descriptions that let us know how much of the Earth’s daylight side is visible from our viewpoint on the moon. 

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• New Moon: The first phase is the ‘new moon’. The new moon phase happens when the moon is between the sun and the Earth. And during a new moon, it is as if it doesn’t exist at all as we can’t even see it from Earth. 

• The Waxing Crescent: The next phase of the moon is called the waxing crescent. This phase means gradually increasing in extent, which sums up nicely what the moon is doing. During this time, the moon gets brighter and more visible, with a growing arc of its surface visible to us.

• The First Quarter: The ‘first quarter’ is ironically but aptly named as half of the moon’s disc is visible from Earth. The first quarter occurs after a 7-day period following the new moon.

• The Waxing Gibbous: The next phase of the moon is called the ‘waxing gibbous. This term comes from Latin, where it means humped or hunched. It aptly describes this stage of the lunar cycle, where more than half of its sunlit side can be seen.

• The Full Moon:  The moon cycles through phases over the course of a month. You can easily tell what phase the moon is in by looking at it. The full phase occurs two weeks after the new moon phase when the moon is at its most striking. A total eclipse can only occur during this time, when the Earth is directly between the sun and the moon.

• The Waning Gibbous: The moon will reach its brightest phase, but it won’t stay that way. The Waning gibbous is when more than half of the moon's visible side is illuminated, but the illuminated portion is getting smaller each day. This stage marks the end of the waxing phase. This moon phase is most easily viewed in the evening hours after sunset.  

• The Last Quarter: The next phase of the cycle is known as the ‘last quarter’. This happens when half of the Moon’s lit disc is visible from Earth as with the first quarter.

• The Waning Crescent: The final phase is the waning crescent. As this phase proceeds, a crescent moon grows smaller. People also refer to this as the old moon. It occurs just before the moon is invisible again at the start of the cycle, the new moon.

What is the Full Moon?

A full moon occurs when the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun are aligned in a syzygy. The Moon is exactly 180 degrees from the Sun as measured by celestial longitude. In reality, the moon may be less than 180 degrees from the Sun because of its tilted orbit.

During some Full Moons, the moon only appears to be 99.9% illuminated because Earth's line of sight blocks parts of the moon's illuminated hemisphere. Why this happens is due to the moon's orbit around the Earth being at an angle of about 5° with respect to Earth's orbital plane, the ecliptic. If the Full Moon occurs when it is above or below the ecliptic, there are less light particles to see- blocking the number by 1%.

New Moon and Full Moon Difference

The difference between the new moon and the full moon is that - The new moon happens when the moon is between the sun and the Earth. And during a new moon, it is as if it doesn’t exist at all as we can’t even see it from Earth whereas full Moons are when the Sun and the Moon are aligned on opposite sides of Earth. The Moon is 100% lit up by the light of the Sun. 

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• In a lunar month, the new moon is the darkest phase of the moon, while the full moon is the brightest.

• On every 15th of the lunar month the full moon falls , whereas the new moon falls on the 1st.

• A full moon is the most visible among all of its phases because it is the brightest, while a new moon is the least visible because it is the darkest phase of them all.

• The full moon is the brightest when it’s in the position to catch the most sunlight and can be illuminated by it. On the other hand, the new moon only receives light from other stars and shines very dimly.