We are on the verge of September end and yet there is another rare astronomical event about to take place on Friday.
If the experts are to be trusted, a rare lunar event a ‘Black Moon’ is likely to be observed on the final day of the month. The lunar event which is about to take place after about two years has already captured minds of the astronomers who are keeping their timeline set for the event to occur. Similar lunar event had also taken place in the year 2014 in the month of March.
However, the sad part is that since this is the new moon, the side of the moon that is illuminated will be facing away from Earth. Therefore, it would not be a visible occurrence on our planet. But, some areas of the world like the United States may observe a Black Moon on Friday, this event will not be noticeable in the other regions globally.
Also, because of the closeness of the new moon, astronomical tides are also expected to be higher than the rest of the month. These above normal tides could even lead to minor beach erosion.
The term Black Moon though has different connotations, but to be more precise, this can be termed as a second new moon in a calendar month. However, it is quite similar to the well-known Blue Moon which is the general name given to the second full moon in a calendar month.
As per the astronomers, this is considered as the second new moon particularly in the entire America, but not in Europe as the country points east from there. The reason behind this is that as the new moon will occur at 08:11 pm EDT on September 30, the eastern region would already have the new month October started by then.
However, the eastern region may also observe a Black Moon around Halloween. While this type of Black Moon happens about once every two and a half years, there are several other lunar events that fall under the same name.
There is another type of Black Moon that usually occurs in February and that too once in five years or in a decade. The next time the Western Hemisphere is likely to witness such a lunar event will be in the month of July in the year 2019.
Image Credit: strangesounds.org