The sky is dark tonight because Earth is farthest from the Sun today.

The July 2024 New Moon occurs today, when Earth reaches its furthest point from the Sun, known as aphelion.

According to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the new moon will occur on July 5 at 6:57 p.m. Eastern Time (22:57 UTC), and two days later the young moon will pass Mercury in the evening sky.

Earth reached aphelion today, meaning we were farther from the sun than at any other time in its annual orbit. Earth's orbit around the sun is slightly elliptical, or oval-shaped, meaning our distance from our star can vary by up to 3% over the course of ...