Though it won't be visible from here, in several hours the Moon will be exactly even with the Sun. Of course, it does this every month, going from nothing to full and then back to nothing again. This time, however, the Earth, Moon and Sun will be in syzygy, a wonderful word that describes three astronomical bodies in alignment. It could be worth untold points in Scrabble, if there was just one more Y.

It seems odd to me that the New Moon is new when it reaches nothing. No Moon or Dead Moon seems more appropriate. The Moon is created ex nihilo once every month and sometimes twice, as was mentioned in a previous post, adding a degree of regularity to the irregular concept of miracle. I know of no calendar convention for the second New Moon in the same calendar month. But, the New Moon goes pretty much unnoticed, so I suppose it's no real loss if you miss one or sometimes the other.

If you're reading this in Africa, the Indian Ocean or all the way toward Eastern Asia, you can disregard what I said about not being visible. You're about to see crescent shaped shadows and a glowing halo around the Sun. There's always something going on up there. Only, today it's the nothing that's of special interest.