The final day of September will bring a rare lunar event that hasn’t occurred since March of 2014, a Black Moon.
We’ve got blue moons and blood moons, harvest moons and super moons, but the elusive ‘black moon’ will grace the sky on Friday.
A black moon occurs when two new moons happen in one month, with the second moon basically invisible as the illuminated side is facing away from Earth. This is similar to the well-known Blue Moon, which is the name given to the second full moon in a calendar month.
So here is the thing about the rare moon: there’s nothing to see. There will simply be a big black sky. It will not be a visible event as the side of the moon that is illuminated will be facing away from the Earth.
So what is so exciting about that you ask? If there was ever a perfect night for stargazing, it’s when the moon fails to steal the light show.
The last black moon happened in March 2014, and happens about every 32 months; the next time that two new moons will occur in the same month in the Western Hemisphere won’t be until July of 2019.
So enjoy it while you can. Even it you can’t exactly see it … it’s still there, and wonderfully poetic nonetheless. So while you might be bummed out about the Black Moon, don’t be.
