Visibility

 The New Moon becomes visible in the West just after Sunset as it begins to break from its conjunction with the Sun. Each evening, it rises higher in the sky, allowing it to shine for about an hour longer before setting. After sunset, a first quarter Moon is always visible straight overhead. The Sun sets during the Full Moon, revealing the Moon just rising in the East, allowing the Full Moon to shine throughout the night. Because it rises an hour later each night, by the time it reaches its last quarter, it is above when the morning Sun, rising in the East, blots it out of view. The Moon travels around the sky with the Sun at the next Lunation, and is invisible unless it eclipses the Sun, in which case it appears as a black shadow across the Sun. It returns in the West a day later, just as the Sun's dying light makes it visible.