To make a new moon, you need to line up the sun, moon and Earth. From the earthbound observer's viewpoint, the sun and moon are at the same celestial longitude, a projection of the Earth's longitude lines on the sky. Most often the moon passes above or below the sun but at times it passes directly between the sun and Earth, creating a solar eclipse as happened during March's new moon and will happen again in September of this year.
New moon nights are good for skywatchers who want to catch fainter objects or meteors; the fact that the moon isn't out means its light won't overwhelm them; for example one can see the Milky Way from a dark sky site much more easily when the moon is below the horizon, which is the case for the entire night of the new moon.
Source: www.space.com
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