A new moon rose early this morning, and like always it was invisible to us here on Earth. This particular hidden moon is significant even among new moons – it’s a rare “Black Moon.” Here’s what that means.
Typically, each season has three new moons, but occasionally a season will have four. When this happens, that third moon is called a black moon. It’s a phenomenon that only happens once every 30 months or so. Farmer’s Almanac noted that “Black Moon” sometimes refers to the second new moon in a single calendar month, something that occurred last December.
According to Space.com, the black moon rose at just after 2 a.m. EDT Saturday. While it isn’t visible now, the outlet said this moon will make a close pass at Mars in the evening sky on Tuesday.
When the new moon is in the sky, it shares the same celestial longitude with the sun and its illuminated side faces away from Earth, making it hidden from us. That is unless it passes in front of the sun in an eclipse. One of those is coming up next month and will be visible over the South Pacific.
As for the black moon, the Weather Channel said it is positioned in the constellation Leo just north of the sun. Per The Hood Witch, this moon is significant in astrology, considered “very transformative” that can help people align with their purpose, or get their stuff “together before summer ends and the eclipses begin.”
New moons like this black moon have a strong pull on tides. Since it won’t be lighting up our skies, the Farmer’s Almanac also said the black moon should be a good weekend for skygazing. Stars and planets will appear brighter without the moon hogging all the attention.
With a completely dark sky at around 9 p.m. EDT Saturday, it might even be possible to see the constellations Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila, high in the southeast from light-polluted city locations, Space.com said. Lyra should be the highest and easiest to find, with Vega, its brightest star, about 85 degrees high at the latitude of New York City, Chicago, or Sacramento.
“A day or two after the new Moon, you’ll see the slim crescent Moon in the west after sunset,” the Farmer’s Almanac said. “This is such a magical moment. Often, you’ll not only see the crescent but also the darkened area of the Moon’s disk shining dimly. The reflected light is called Earthshine.”
Those looking at the western sky from New York on Tuesday evening should be able to see the three-day-old moon to the left of Mars, Space.com said. In the southwest, it will be visible at sunset.