backgrounds

Dawn over Tully Inlet on the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The moon is just above the horizon, about to set as the sun rises. A full moon always sets at dawn because the sun is shining fully on the face of the moon. A full moon rises close to 1800 hr and sets close to 0600 hr the next morning.

A new moon does the opposite and is in the sky all day, though we don't often notice it.

An eclipse of the moon can only happen with a full moon, as the moon gets in the shadow of the earth.

An eclipse of the sun by the moon can only occur on a new moon as the moon is between the earth and the sun and the moon's shadow falls on earth.