Anyone into rare astronomical events or in the market for a new band name should look to the sky today, December 30, 2024, at 5:27 PM Eastern time. At that precise moment, we will get a black moon — two new moons in a month… which is when the sun and the moon share the same celestial longitude.
A black moon isn’t like a blood moon, where the moon is a different color. You’re not going to look into the sky and think an inky void has broken open from which the embodiment of ancient cosmic evil, a remnant of time immemorial, has poured forth to consume us all. It’ll just be a moon, one that isn’t even visible to us.
During a black moon, the moon is positioned between the Earth and the sun, making it invisible to the naked eye since its unlit side faces Earth. That means you won’t get to see the Black Moon. So at 5:27 PM Eastern time today, December 30, 2024, look up to the sky and imagine you’re looking at a black moon, which again, would just be a normal moon.
But there is one advantage: its absence will create more darkness so you can better see the stars and planets above.
What is a Black Moon?
black moons occur thanks to the misalignment between the moon’s phases and the calendar. A lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days, while calendar months are longer, leading to occasional months with two new moons or extra new moons in a season.
Black moons occur once every 29 months or so. Once every 33 months, you’ll have a seasonal black moon, which is for black moons in a single season. The rarest version of a black moon happens when there is neither a new moon nor a full moon in February.
After today’s black moon, there will be two more in the next couple of years. The next will occur on August 23, 2025, and the one after that will happen on August 31, 2027.
The post What Is a Black Moon and How Can I See It? appeared first on VICE.
