The Natural Compass

Moon tonight

New Moon

The sunny side of the moon is facing mostly away from us, so it looks dark or like a super-thin line of light.

This is a crescent moon: the thin bright curve is sunlight; the large dark area is the moon’s night side.

✦ A quiet moment in the sky: good for resting, dreaming up ideas, and starting small when you feel ready.

Everyone on Earth sees the same phase at the same moment — only your local clock time differs. The drawing matches how the moon looks in the northern sky; south of the equator, left and right in the picture swap.