New Moon, December 2026

39 nights to go

8 December 2026 to 12 December 2026 · In the evening

The Moon that night: 0% lit. If the sky is clear.

The Moon is new on the evening of 8 December 2026 in every US time zone (9 December in Europe). For about five nights around it there is no Moon in the evening sky: the darkest week of the month for stars, and it runs straight into the Geminids.

In the second week of December there is no Moon at night. The sky is very dark, so you can see more stars.

At new Moon the lit side of the Moon faces away from us, and the Moon is up in the daytime near the Sun, so the night is dark. A few nights later a thin crescent shows low in the west after sunset.

New Moon is when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun (in longitude); it is invisible because its lit half faces away and it sits in the Sun's glare. The darkest skies come in the few nights around it, which is why astronomers and meteor watchers plan around new Moon.

A thin crescent Moon above Earth's glowing edge, seen from space. — A crescent Moon setting, photographed by the crew of the International Space Station in March 2015, the kind of thin Moon that follows new Moon. Photo: NASA/Terry Virts (NASA Image and Video Library, public domain).

Where to look

Nowhere: that is the point. Look at the stars instead, and in the west after sunset on 10–12 December for a very thin crescent.

What to do

Pick a clear night between 8 and 12 December.
Find the darkest spot you can reach, away from streetlights.
Look for the Milky Way's faint glow, or count how many stars you can see in Orion.

More sky events

“If it's cloudy, don't worry. The planets will still be there tomorrow night.”