Astronomy Picture of the Day . A New Year s Crescent . ... Credit Copyright: Jay Ouellet Explanation: That's not the young crescent Moon poised above the western horizon at sunset. ... But it also grows larger in apparent size and becomes a steadily thinner crescent in binocular views as it heads toward an inferior conjunction , positioned between the Earth and the Sun on January 11. ... January . ... NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers . ... Publications with keywords: Venus . ...