New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- which is exactly the point. On August 12, 2026, the moon stands in New Moon phase, its sunlit face turned away from Earth and its gravitational alignment with the Sun precise enough to cast a shadow across northern Spain at sunset. It is, by the astronomical definition, the darkest day of the current lunar cycle. It is also the day of a total solar eclipse.

On August 12, 2026, the moon phase is New Moon. Illumination is effectively zero - the hemisphere visible from Earth is entirely in darkness. A New Moon is the phase that begins the lunar cycle, the moment when the Moon, Earth, and Sun align so closely that the Moon's sunlit side faces completely away from us. It occurs approximately once every 29.5 days. Today's...