New Moon arrives on Friday: What it means for South Africa’s skies

South Africans will see a New Moon on Friday, 11 September, bringing darker night skies and potentially better conditions for stargazing.

The New Moon marks the point in the lunar cycle when the Moon sits between the Sun and Earth.

The side facing Earth receives little to no direct sunlight, making the Moon difficult to see from the ground.

The alignment is called a conjunction or syzygy.

Why you cannot see the New Moon

The Moon appears close to the Sun in the sky. It rises and sets at roughly the same time as the Sun, meaning the Sun’s bright glare makes it almost impossible to see the Moon with the naked eye.

The Moon’s orbit is also slightly tilted compared with Earth’s orbit around the Sun. This means the Sun, Moon and Earth do not usually line up perfectly during a New Moon.

A solar eclipse happens when they align closely enough for the Moon to pass in front of the Sun.

This is the one occasion when the New Moon becomes visible as it crosses the Sun’s disc. This is only from locations where the eclipse is visible.

Darker skies could help stargazers

Although the New Moon itself remains hidden, its arrival can make the night sky much darker.

With little or no moonlight washing out the sky, stargazers have better conditions for spotting stars and other celestial objects.

Depending on local weather and light pollution, observers may have a better chance of seeing planets, meteor showers, the Milky Way and distant objects such as star clusters and nebulae.

Clear skies will still be important, so cloud cover and local weather conditions will determine how good viewing conditions are in different parts of South Africa.

What South Africans should watch for

It will not appear as a bright disc in the night sky. Instead, its main benefit for skywatchers will be the darker conditions it creates after sunset.

For anyone hoping to make the most of the darker skies, checking the local weather forecast will be just as important as checking the lunar phase.

Cloudy conditions can easily obscure stars and other celestial objects, even when the Moon is absent.