The new moon arrives on July 17, at 2:32 p.m. Eastern Time (1832 UTC), according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, two days before the waxing moon makes a close pass to Mercury.
New moons occur when the moon is directly between the sun and Earth. Technically, the sun and moon are in conjunction, on the same north-south line that passes through the celestial pole, near the star Polaris. Lunar phases' timing depends on the moon's location relative to the Earth, so they occur at the same time all over the world, with the hour changing according to one's time zone: for Chicagoans the new moon is at 1:32 p.m. local time, while in Paris it is at 8:32 p.m., and in Tokyo it is at 3:32 a.m. July 18, and in Melbourne, Australia it is at 4:32 a.m. July 18.
