The new moon arrives in the middle of May, during a night that will feature a march of planets across the sky.

The moon is officially new at 7:47 a.m. EDT (1147 GMT) on Tuesday (May 15). A new moon occurs when the moon is between the sun and Earth. More technically, both objects share the same celestial longitude — they rest on the same north-south line that passes through the celestial pole, near Polaris, the North Star.

AdvertisemeAt that point, the moon is invisible to earthbound observers. It rises and sets at very nearly the same time as the sun, and it will be close to the sun in the sky all day long, so trying to look for it could damage your eyes. Furthermore, even if one could block the sun's light, the moon's face would be completely dark when viewed from Earth, since the sun would be behind it. Because the moon orbits at an incline, it usually doesn't pass directly in front of the sun to cause a solar eclipse.) [Infographic: Earth's Moon Phases, Monthly Lunar Cycles]

This illustration (made using real images and data) shows the moon in shadow during the "new moon" lunar phase.

This illustration (made using real images and data) shows the moon in shadow during the "new moon" lunar phase.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

From the northeastern U.S., the new moon rises around 6 a.m. EDT on May 15 and sets by 8:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the sun rises at 5:39 a.m. and sets at 8:06 p.m., according to timeanddate.com.

On Monday night (May 14), a day before it is new, the moon rises at 5:27 a.m. and sets at 7:11 p.m. in New York. It will be a very thin crescent rising ahead of the sun, which comes up only 12 minutes later, at 5:39 a.m.

After the new moon, our celestial companion becomes visible after sunset, once again a thin crescent that sets around 9:30 p.m. local time on May 16 for viewers along the East Coast. A test of an observer's skill can be spotting the moon just after sunset when it is that close to the sun – less than 10 degrees away — and illustrates why ancient observers sometimes disagreed about the timing of lunar months. It's easy to miss the waxing crescent moon's first appearance due to weather or obstructions on the horizon.

Moon Master: An Easy Quiz for Lunatics
For most of human history, the moon was largely a mystery. It spawned awe and fear and to this day is the source of myth and legend. But today we know a lot about our favorite natural satellite. Do you?
Full Moon over Long Beach, CA
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Visible planets

After sunset on May 15, the first planet mid-northern latitude observers will see is Venus, the "evening star." Venus sets at 10:36 p.m. in New York, according to heavens-above.com. Venus is bright enough that it can be spotted quite soon after sunset and is prominent even in city locations (this writer can attest to catching it over the western horizon even when standing under streetlights). Venus will be at magnitude -3.8, making it the third-brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon. About a half hour after sunset Venus will be 20 degrees above the horizon, which is enough to clear most buildings.

Meanwhile, over the eastern horizon in the constellation Libra, Jupiter will be about 8 degrees above the horizon at sunset on the night of the new moon. Jupiter isn't as bright as Venus, and will be shining at magnitude -2.4. That's about one-third the brightness of Venus but still apparent even in a light-polluted sky. Jupiter will rise before sunset, coming up at 7:18 p.m. local time in New York. The giant gas planet sets at 5:24 a.m. on Wednesday (May 16), about 14 minutes before sunrise. That makes it visible nearly all night, and by midnight its altitude is a third of the way up from the horizon.

After Jupiter, the next planet to grace the skies is Saturn, which rises on May 15 at 11:19 p.m. The ringed planet sets well into the morning at 8:32 a.m. on May 16. Saturn is in Sagittarius, which from a dark-sky site shows some of the brighter portions of the Milky Way. From mid-northern latitudes it is rather low in the sky, though as the planet reaches its highest point at just before 4 a.m. local time in New York, it will still be about 27 degrees above the horizon. [How to Measure Distances in the Night Sky]

Saturn will be followed by Mars, which in New York rises at about 12:52 a.m. on May 16. It will be high in the sky by about 4 a.m., in the constellation Capricorn. Capricorn is relatively dim, and not very visible from city locations, but Mars will be at magnitude -0.8, a bit brighter than the star Vega.

The final naked-eye planet that keen-eyed observers can catch is Mercury. Mercury is difficult to observe under any circumstances, as its proximity to the sun means one can see it only when close to sunrise or sunset. On May 16, the innermost planet rises at 4:54 p.m. local time in New York. Sunrise is at 5:38 a.m., and civil twilight — the point when many cities start turning the streetlights off — is at 5:06 a.m. Mercury is a bright planet (its magnitude is -0.2), but it will be competing with a brightening sky as it rises just about 21 degrees away from the sun.

Among stars, by the early hours of the evening, Vega (made famous by the 1997 movie "Contact" as the home of the aliens who communicate with Earth) will be rising, marking one of the corners of the Summer Triangle, an asterism marked by Vega, Deneb and Altair. The constellation Taurus (where Venus is located) will be setting in the west, joined by Gemini and Canis Major. The "Dog Star" Sirius sets soon after Venus does as well. All these are traditional winter constellations, and May is when they start to make way for the summer skies.