What is the difference between a crescent moon and a new moon?

Answer 1

The new moon is also called the "dark of the moon." It refers to the period in which the sunlit part of the moon is facing entirely away from earth, so the moon appears only as an outline.

The crescent moon is the first 2-3 days after the new moon, as the moon is waxing, but still quite thin.

Answer 2

The word "crescent" is derived from the Latin word from which we get the italian word 'crescendo' to say that the loudness of the music is growing... and in Spanish, 'creciendo' means the very same, growing.

Since the Romans never did completely conquer the British Isles, however, this word wound up being somewhat misunderstood, and in English means the shape of the moon when it looks like a thumbnail.. all the way from when it reaches the "last quarter" stage and becomes skinnier and skinnier as it approaches the sun in the sky, and then as it grows more and more before reaching the "first quarter".

Technically, with the exception of when there is a solar eclipse, there is no difference between what we in English call a crescent moon and the new moon, because, if you were to get a big enough telescope and knew where to point it, even in broad daylight, you could still see a very thin sliver of moon lit up by sunlight.

The reason it's called the "new moon" when it passes the
sun, is that before the advent of telescopes, anybody with merely average vision couldn't see the moon for the brightness of the sky with the sun, and it appeard as if the moon were completely disappearing, and being eaten up by the sun.

So, when the waxing (growing) crescent moon can be seen again, after appearing to have been devowered by the sun, it was assumed that this was a new moon.

All it means is that the moon is so near to the sun that it cannot be seen by anyone with unaided normal vision.

Answer 3

A crescent moon is your typical 'C' shaped moon. A crescent moon can be either waxing, shaped like a regular 'C' or waning, shaped like a backwards C. A new moon is where the moon is not visible. This occurs when the Sun and the Moon are on the same side of the Earth and the Sun is shining on the side of the moon that is not visible to us, therefore making it 'new'.

Answer 4

Strictly, the moon is 'new' when it is invisible. Confusion arises because some people use 'new moon' to refer to the moon as it starts to become visible again when it takes the form of a narrow crescent. Put simply, 'new moon' is 'no moon' and a crescent moon is, well, a crescent!

Answer 5

The sun shines on the moon at an angle and lights up a portion giving it that crescent shape. A new moon is when the sun is not at an angle to light up and shows the moon with just a faint outline or nothing at all.

Answer 6

A crescent moon is part way between a half moon and a new moon, or between a new moon and a half moon.

The new moon is the phase of the moon when the moon is not visible from Earth, because the side of the moon that is facing us is not being lit by the sun.

Answer 7

the moon goes around the earth. half the moon is always in sunlight. the moons face seems to change shape because we see different parts of the sunlit side as the moon revolves around the earth. a new moon is when the moon is in front of the sun and we cannot see it as the side of the moon we see does not have sunlight being reflected of it. a waxing cresent is when we see the first part of the moon after a new moon this is followed by a half moon, (half the moon is seen) a waxing gibbous (3 quarters) a full moon (when the earth is between the moon and sun and we can see all of the moon) a waning gibbous (3 quarters), a half moon, a waning cresent followed by another new moon. it takes about 28 days for the moon to circle the earth. the earth takes 24 hours to rotate on its axis so half the earth is in darkness at any one time.

Answer 8

In astronomical terminology, the New Moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth. At this time, the illuminated half of the Moon faces directly toward the Sun, and the dark or unilluminated portion of the Moon faces directly toward Earth, so that the Moon is invisible as seen from Earth.

New Moon is often considered to occur at the time of the appearance of the first visible crescent of the Moon, after conjunction with the Sun. This takes place over the western horizon in a brief period between sunset and moonset, and therefore the precise time and even the date of the appearance of the New Moon by this definition will be influenced by the geographical location of the observer. The astronomical New Moon, sometimes known as the dark moon to avoid confusion, occurs by definition at the moment of conjunction in ecliptic longitude with the Sun, when the Moon is invisible from the Earth. This moment is unique and does not depend on location, and under certain circumstances it may be coincident with a solar eclipse.

The New Moon is the beginning of the month in lunar calendars such as the Muslim calendar, and in lunisolar calendars such as the Hebrew calendar, Hindu calendars, Buddhist calendar, and Chinese calendar.

Answer 9

At the new moon, the whole of the moon is shaded by the earth, which gets between the sun and the moon. Therefore you cannot see any part of the moon - it is all in the shade. It happens every 28 (ish) days. The cresent moon is the next phase, as we move towards the full moon (about 14 days after the new moon). We also get a cresent moon on the way back to a new moon, just before it all disappears from view - and it starts all over again, as it has done for millions of years.

Answer 10

Crescent moon is partially lit up by the sun. So you see the smile part of a smiley face ) or ( . If you've seen DreamWorks productions, that moon the kid sits on is a crescent shaped one.

New moon, you can't see it. It's when the earth is perfectly alligned with the sun and the moon. (the earth being between the sun and moon) . So the moon dwells in earth's shadows.

So, you can't see a new moon. But it's still there. You just can't see it... =)