Moon phases 2026: New Moon on September 11 to provide an excellent night for stargazing

September is an exciting month for stargazing, with several stunning celestial events lined up in the coming weeks. With the New Moon phase coming up, and the night sky going pitch-black, the conditions will be ideal for viewers to gaze at deep-sky objects and faint stars.

When the New Moon will occur

The New Moon will occur at 3:27 a.m. UTC on September 11, 2026, which is equivalent to 11:27 p.m. EDT on September 10, meaning U.S. viewers will experience the phenomenon on Thursday night.

The phases of the Moon

The Moon passes through eight distinct phases while orbiting the Earth during a 29.5-day lunar cycle. These eight phases, in order, are: New Moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, Full Moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent.

Why we can't usually see the New Moon

The New Moon, being the invisible phase of the Moon, is the stage when the Moon is positioned between Earth and the Sun. During this phase, the Moon's illuminated side points towards the Sun while the unilluminated side faces Earth, causing the lunar disk to become almost invisible to us. Also, at this time, the New Moon is located upwards in the daytime sky, and it rises and sets at roughly the same time as the Sun. Hence, it is lost in the Sun's glare, making it impossible to see with the naked eye. But there is one exception when the New Moon phase is visible, and that is during a solar eclipse, according to Time and Date. This is because the Moon is backlit by the Sun, creating a silhouette and enabling us to view the dark disk of our natural satellite as it shields the Sun's light.

At the exact moment of the New Moon on September 11, the Sun will illuminate 0% of the visible lunar disk, but this will quickly grow to a tiny fraction of a percent—0.1% according to TheSkyLive. Also, during the nights immediately before and after the New Moon, you can view a dazzling sight, popularly known as the Da Vinci glow or Earthshine, when the unilluminated portion of the Moon's disk is faintly lit in a bluish-gray glow along with the brightly illuminated crescent.

A good chance for U.S. skywatchers: What to spot on the New Moon night

The dark sky during this night will be ideal for viewing celestial targets that would usually be washed out by moonlight. You can expect to catch a glimpse of planets, meteor showers, and deep-sky targets such as nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters. Also, according to National Geographic, this will be among the last chances in 2026 to view the Milky Way core in the Northern Hemisphere as the faint stars can come into view in the darkened sky. Try viewing these targets at locations far from city lights.

This "invisible phase" period is also a favorable condition to view the zodiacal light—a hazy, triangular glow caused by sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust in the plane of our solar system.

More on Starlust

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