New moon

In astronomy, new moon is the first phase of the Moon, when it orbits as seen from the Earth, the moment when the Moon and the Sun have the same ecliptical longitude. The Moon is not visible at this time except when it is seen in silhouette during a solar eclipse when it is illuminated by earthshine. See the article on phases of the Moon for further details.

A lunation or synodic month is the mean (average) time from one new moon to the next. In the J2000.0 epoch, the average length of a lunation is 29.530588 days (or 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds). However, the length of any one synodic month can vary from 29.26 to 29.80 days due to the perturbing effects of the Sun's gravity on the Moon's eccentric orbit. In a lunar calendar, each month corresponds to a lunation. Each lunar cycle can be assigned a unique Lunation Number to identify it.

Determining new moons: an approximate formula

The length of a lunation is about 29.53 days. Its precise duration is linked to many phenomena in nature, such as the variation between spring and neap tides (the extreme highest and lowest tides, respectively). An approximate formula to compute the mean moments of new moon (conjunction between Sun and Moon) for successive months is:

New Moon (Elliott Smith album)

New Moon is a posthumous compilation album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, released on May 8, 2007 by Kill Rock Stars. It contains twenty-four previously unreleased songs, most recorded between 1994 and 1997 during the sessions for Smith's albums Elliott Smith and Either/Or.

The album was well received by critics and reached number 24 in the US Billboard chart, selling about 24,000 copies in its first week.

Background

In August 2006, an "excited" employee at Kill Rock Stars made a post on the label's official website stating that an extended version of Either/Or would be released in 2006 to commemorate the record's tenth anniversary. This information was quickly pulled from the website, as the album was in very early planning stages. Eventually, Kill Rock Stars announced that Either/Or: Extended Edition (as it was to be called) had been scrapped in favor of a rarities and unreleased music compilation from Smith's time at the label.

Mixing for the album was done by Larry Crane, the archivist for Smith's estate. The album cover was created by Portland, Oregon artist Mike King, who has produced work for numerous other musicians.

New Moon (novel)

New Moon is a romantic fantasy novel by author Stephenie Meyer, and is the second novel in the Twilight series. The novel continues the story of Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen's relationship. When Edward leaves Bella after his brother attacks her, she is left heartbroken and depressed for months until Jacob Black becomes her best friend and helps her fight her pain. However, her life twists once more when Jacob's nature reveals itself and Edward's sister decides to visit.

According to Meyer, the book is about losing true love. The title refers to the darkest phase of the lunar cycle, indicating that New Moon is about the darkest time of protagonist Bella Swan's life. Meyer wrote the book before Twilight was published. Writing the book was difficult for Meyer as she feared the readers' reaction to the book and often cried while describing Bella's pain.

The book was originally released in hardcover on September 6, 2006 with an initial print run of 100,000 copies. Upon its publication in the United States, New Moon was highly successful and moved quickly to the top of bestseller lists, becoming one of the most anticipated books of the year. It peaked at #1 on both the New York Times Best Seller list and USA Today's Top 150 Bestsellers, and was the biggest selling children's paperback of 2008 with over 5.3 million copies sold. Moreover, New Moon was the best-selling book of 2009 and has been translated into 38 languages. A film adaptation of the book was released on November 20, 2009.