The Waning Crescent Moon is only about 8.8 percent illuminated tonight, appearing as a thin sliver of light at night. The gradually darkening Moon will soon vanish from sight as it enters its final phase of the monthly lunar cycle. On the night of the New Moon, the Earth-facing side of the lunar orb is no longer lit up by the Sun. As a result, the New Moon is not visible to the unaided eye and the night is starved of its eerie white glow.
When is the December New Moon phase?
The New Moon will vanish into darkness over the UK in the morning hours of Friday, December 7.
As seen from London, the New Moon will peak at 7.20am GMT (UTC) – just minutes before it dips below the horizon.
On December 7, the Moon will set at 7.24am GMT and rise again at 4pm GMT in the northeast skies.
Will you be able to see the New Moon?
Unfortunately, the New Moon is not visible to the unaided eye due to the lack of sunlight falling on its Earth-side face.
The Moon always faces the Earth from the same position but the amount of sunlight it reflects back at us differs every single night.
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It is possible you might catch a minuscule glimpse of the Crescent Moon on December 6 but your odds are looking slim.
Astronomer Deborah Byrd, EarthSky.org, explained: “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.
“In the language of astronomy – a day or two after each month’s New Moon – a slim Crescent Moon always becomes visible in the west after sunset.
“Astronomers call this slim crescent a Young Moon.”
Why do the Moon’s phases change every night?
The Moon’s cycling lunar passes are the reason why night the Moon is large and beautiful one night and half-obscured another.
As the glowing orb dances around the Earth and the Sun at the same time, the amount of light falling on the Moon changes.
Space agency NASA explained: “The Moon has no light of its own. Moonlight is sunlight bouncing off the Moon’s surface.
“As the Moon orbits Earth, the Sun lights up whatever side of the Moon is facing it. To the Sun, it’s always a full Moon.”
The phases are caused by the changing angle of the Sun in relation to the Moon’s orbit around our home planet.
The cycle starts with the first Waxing Crescent after a New Moon and ends with the New Moon.
In-between these two phases are the First Quarter Moon, the Full Moon and the Third Quarter Moon.
NASA said: “The Moon also approaches and recedes from us, appearing to grow and shrink.
“The two extremes, called perigee – near – and apogee – far – differ by about 14 percent.